


Thy Kingdom Come

by acupoftaeandcookie



Category: Super Junior, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Porn, Apocalypse, Attempt at Humor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Relationship and Additional Tags not fully added to avoid spoilers, Romance, Suicide Attempt, Violence, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-04-26 11:15:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14400993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acupoftaeandcookie/pseuds/acupoftaeandcookie
Summary: Hyukjae was a successful doctor living in Seoul. Unknown to most, he was trying to bury his past with work. And it seemed to be effective.Until he met an unusual patient that changed his life forever.





	1. Prologue: Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter contains sections that would be in either Hyukjae's or Donghae's POV, usually alternating between the two. I will indicate in the chapters if there are any POV that are not from those two except for "I" sections.
> 
> Prologue is neither Hyukjae nor Donghae.

_5 years before main timeline_

 

“He lived?”

 

“Yes, the injection was successful…”

 

“And?”

 

“When we ran the scan, it is indeed effective.”  
  


The man waited, sensing there was something else. "But...?"

 

A report was placed in front of him on the desk. He took it and looked through the texts. He turned to the next page and it was the scan.

 

“It worked…”

 

“Not only that, Sir. You may want to see this video. This is from the surveillance camera in the testing room. The video recorded the process of injection, and what happened after.”

 

The man watched the black and white video with intense eyes.

 

After the third looping of the video, he slowly developed a creepy smile.

 

“Perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing a fanfic, hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> I'll try to post chapters regularly.
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 1: Gateway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Give me back my smile…Free me from this hell.”

_February, Present_

 

Hyukjae was having a rough night.

 

As a 27-years-old doctor and a surgeon at a renowned hospital in Seoul, Hyukjae performed countless surgeries with 100% success rate. It was a Thursday night and the kidney transplant surgery he did was of course successful, but the cleanup process wasn’t entirely pleasant.

 

The drive back to his apartment wasn’t pleasant either, as a sudden freak ice storm started and covered everything in ice, forcing Hyukjae is forced to drive at a painfully slow speed of 20 km/h. He finally managed to get home and crashed onto his bed at 2 AM, but only to be woken up by an ear-piercing fire alarm an hour later as the ice somehow got into the electrical circuit. He cursed and got up to get to the lobby, thinking about the stairs he had to take as the elevators were closed.

 

There he was, waiting in the lobby for almost an hour for the firemen to come fix the fire system and another 30 minutes to reboot the elevators. The walk down from the 30th floor was excruciating enough as he was dead tired, so he didn’t even bother to walk back up to his place after the loud sound was gone.

 

When the elevators finally worked, Hyukjae quickly walked to them as he can’t wait to lie down on his bed again. He went to the bathroom and checked his face in the mirror. The jet-black hair was now a mess and the two brown eyes looked so empty. He noted to himself that he should buy earplugs next time. Sleep-deprivation was taking a toll on him.

 

He went back to his bed and looked at his digital clock on his nightstand. 4:53 AM. He groaned as he only had about two hours to sleep. He had a surgery scheduled in the morning and he was not exactly looking forward to it. Hyukjae turned around and closed his eyes, hoping that he won’t look and feel _that_ disastrous in the morning.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Wake up, freak.”

 

The sharp, nasty voice shook Donghae out of his slumber. He painfully opened his eyes and found that he was lying naked on his “bed” -literally a wooden board with a thin mattress on top- and noticed there was a huge pool of vomit with traces of blood on the floor beside him. His throat was so painful and dry it felt like a desert.

 

He realized that he threw up again after another night of experiment where he blacked out from the pain. Somehow his butt also felt very sore…

 

The guard banged the cell bars with his baton. “Get dressed and eat before I open the doors and beat the crap out of you. Show me that you are not that easy as you look.” He snarled. Donghae heard other guards snickering elsewhere. “The director wants to do some more experiments today.”

 

When the guard left, Donghae struggled to get up and tried to ignore the pain from his throat and butt. He got dressed and carefully avoided the pool of bloody vomit to go the makeshift sink in the corner of his cell. He washed his face and gurgled the rust-tasting water to try to make himself look a bit “presentable”.

 

When he was done, he dragged his feet to where the food was deposited and sat down on the floor. He stared at the gooey, grey substance and wondered to himself with tears welling up in his eyes. It has been more than 5 years since he last saw the sun. 5 years since _that_ happened.

 

_Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?_

_Who am I? What am I?_

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“You need some rest?” Leeteuk asked.

 

Hyukjae put down his scalpel and rubbed his temples. He was struggling to stay awake and almost fell onto the ground five times since the beginning of the surgery. “Yeah, I do. Didn’t get a lot of rest last night.”

 

“Go take a break. I can finish the surgery, it’s not a big tumor so don’t worry.” Leeteuk smiled gently under his mask.

 

“Thanks. I owe you coffee. Usual time in the afternoon?” Hyukjae smiled back.

 

“Yep, now go get some sleep, monkey.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled. He and Leeteuk had been buddies since freshman at university. Although Leeteuk was three years older, he helped Hyukjae with his studies as becoming a doctor was not an easy task. Leeteuk doesn’t mind if Hyukjae talked casually to him and often teased Hyukjae with his nicknames.

 

Hyukjae took off his surgeon clothes and threw the bloody gloves away, he went to the break room and checked his phone to see if he missed anything on his social media. After a brief session of scrolling, Hyukjae laid down on the couch as closed his eyes. Almost immediately, he passed out from exhaustion.

 

It felt like only a few minutes, but he flinched when something landed on his chest. He opened one eye and saw his sister standing in front of him, whom happened to toss a candy to him.

 

Hyukjae grinned like a kid, losing his usual professional stature and got up. “You always came at the right time to cheer me up.” He said as he popped the candy in his mouth. His older sister Sora was a nurse in the hospital. Every once in a while, she would check on him and bring some snacks.

 

Sora rolled her eyes and gently slapped his arm. “Of course, I am your sister unfortunately. I figured that you must be out of it since you had another surgery last night and there was an ice storm.”

 

“It took me an hour to get home. Oh, and the stupid fire alarm went off because of the ice.”

 

“Why do you make yourself so busy then? You know you don’t have to accept all the surgery requests that were available.”

 

Hyukjae dropped his smile. “You know why.” He said in a serious tone.

 

Sora sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I meant to say that you shouldn’t overwork yourself. Our parents would kill me if they found out that you died from exhaustion while we are practically in the same building every day.”

 

“You are only doing this because of our ‘parents’? That’s nice of you.” Hyukjae commented sarcastically.

 

“Lee Hyukjae, please. You know that I am basically your third parent. And by that I meant _actual_ parent.” Sora frowned. “Just try to get some rest okay? I’ll come by your place Sunday to drop off some food. My husband will have some people coming over tomorrow so there would be leftovers.”

 

“Sure thanks. Tell him I say hi okay?” Hyukjae replied. Sora married her husband a couple years ago. Hyukjae had no problem him with since he was the only other person who can make Sora feel truly happy beside Hyukjae himself.

 

“I will don’t worry. Bye my baby monkey.” Sora smiled and hugged him and left.

 

Hyukjae leaned back on the couch and continued sucking on the sweet candy. But his mood didn’t lighten up from his talk with Sora about their “family”.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae screamed in pain.

 

He was held suspended in the air by cuffs around his wrist, ankle, and neck in a sleek, white, rectangular room. The pain started from the spot on his arm where the liquid was injected, then it spread throughout his body like fire. It hurts so much that he nearly passed out again. The blinding pain overwhelmed his brain that he couldn’t even focus on his “powers” to protect himself.

 

Through his tears, he tried to find a face behind the huge dark, barely reflective surface on the wall in front of him. He knew that it was a one-way window and there were people on the other side, collecting data on how his body reacted to the fluid that was injected.

 

When the pain finally subsided to numbing pulses, he heard the automated voice. “Release subject.” The cuffs immediately opened and dumped Donghae onto the polished, freezing floor. He was so tired from screaming and didn’t have the energy to get up. In his dazed state, he heard doors opening and felt rough hands dragging him out.

 

“Why?!” He gathered up strength -which was extremely difficult- and yelled at the dark surface. “After five fucking years, and you still won’t let me go. What did I do? Why was I chosen to be in this hellhole?!”

 

Donghae knew the director was behind that window, and he could hear him loud and clear. After a brief silence, a cold, robotic voice answered him. “Like I told you for five years straight, you did nothing. You are simply just a subject for a greater cause. Just a tool I need to rule the world.”

 

Donghae was speechless and began to sob. He allowed to himself to be dragged away and thrown back into his cell. Not long before he realized the guard was in the cell with him.

 

Or rather, _multiple_ guards.

 

“N-no…p-p-please…just let me b-be…just one night…” Donghae pleaded as the guards began to roughly take his clothes off. They shoved him onto the mattress and began to take off their belts.

 

They ignored him, of course.

 

At this sickly place, the only sounds at night are the grunts, cries, and screams.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae yawned and finished typing the last words of a medical record of his patient. The day was finally over. Apparently, Sora had informed the head of the hospital about Hyukjae’s insane schedule and he agreed that Hyukjae should rest. The head cleared all of his scheduled surgeries that evening and the entirety of Saturday and Sunday, meaning that Hyukjae had the entire weekend to himself. It was 6 PM when he started to pack. This was the first time he drove home in the sunset in a while.

 

He looked outside the window of his office. The sun was slowly sinking and the sky was an amazing hue of yellow, orange, and red. White spots dappled on buildings from the ice storm in the previous night. He paused on putting his computer in his bag and marveled at the view.

_Mom, Dad. I wish you guys could see what I am seeing right now._

_I missed you guys. A lot._

 

Hyukjae heard a knock on his door. “Come in.” He called out with a hoarse voice.

 

The door opened and Sora was standing there. “Hey! Are you ready to leave? Husband decided that he will cook for us tonight…” Her voice trailed off when she saw her brother’s face. “Are you alright?”

 

Hyukjae realized he had tears rolling down his face. He quickly wiped them away. “I want Mom and Dad to see this view…” Hyukjae started saying but he ended up choking on his own tears.

 

Sora stared at him for a moment before she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around the sniffling body. Hyukjae may look tough and strong on the outside, but Sora knew he was just a little boy in his heart that missed his parents so much.

 

“Hyukjae…it’s alright, I’m still here.” Sora had tears in her eyes as she let her brother cry in her shoulder. “You still have me as family. I will never leave you behind. Okay? Mom and Dad told you to be strong no matter what. Stop crying and act like an adult.” Sora scolded him softly, releasing Hyukjae from her grasp and looked at his puffy, red eyes.

 

“I’ll tell my husband that you want some time alone to rest. Is that fine?”

 

Hyukjae nodded.

 

“Alright, I’ll get going then. Go wash your face. I don’t want to be embarrassed when people sees my 27-years-old brother crying like a little kid.” Sora smiled when Hyukjae lightly punched her.

 

After they bid farewell in the parking lot, Hyukjae started his car and drove out of the hospital. But instead of going home, he turned to the opposite direction and headed out of the city.

 

When the buildings on the side of the highway were slowly replaced by the icy forest, Hyukjae got off the highway and drove down a quiet road. He reached a cemetery at the end of the road and stopped the car. Almost in a trance, Hyukjae walked to the top of a hill, which was not an easy task because of the ice. There are two tombstones on the top that overlooked the bustling city of Seoul in the fading sunlight.

 

“Hi Mom. Hey Dad.” Hyukjae said. “How are you guys? I had a pretty busy week. Do you guys know what happened last night? There was a huge ice storm and…”

 

He rambled on about what happened throughout the week. Unknowingly to Sora, Hyukjae visits the graves of their parents almost every week. He felt comforted after the stressful time in the hospital, even though he always struggled to hold back his tears when he went.

 

“…I cried again today too…and Sora scolded me for it.” Hyukjae pouted. “I am still just a little boy who can’t even be strong, not even for others…I can’t even be strong for Sora…”

 

“…I just wished that…I will be stronger one day, able to protect _someone_ important to me…”

 

“…I missed you two so much. I will not be able to visit again soon as I will be going on vacation. Sora and I will come on the anniversary, okay?”

 

Hyukjae left with a tearful smile and turned to walk back to his car.

 

That was when he heard the faint _boom_ of an explosion. He turned and saw a mushroom cloud of smoke rising to the sky in a distance, accompanied by a series of more explosions.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae was curled up in a ball on his bed. The guards had left a couple hours ago after they violated him. Again. A sticky, white substance was everywhere on and around his bed. He had stopped crying too, but now he felt completely exhausted, broken, and empty.

 

He had given up on hope to be rescued a long time ago and became suicidal. However, the director ensured that Donghae cannot end his own life by having almost nothing in his cell and placing guards to watch him.

 

 _Tomorrow is just going to be a repeat of today_. Donghae thought. _What is the point of living anymore?_

 

He heard a noise in the shaft where food would usually be deposited. He turned and look at the blue pill with a plastic cup of water. During the 5 years of imprisonment, Donghae figured that the pill suppresses his powers. The powers that he was unwillingly given when he was kidnapped and injected. He probably could break out of his cell with his powers by not taking the pill, but of course the guards will notice and things won’t be pretty.

 

“Go take your little pill, freak.” The guard said. Donghae sighed and walked towards the pill.

 

Just as he was about to take the blue object, there was suddenly a loud _bang_ rang down the prison hall.

 

The guard turned towards the sound. “What the f-”

 

A much closer second explosion knocked him to the wall. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

 

Donghae shielded himself from the searing heat and looked around. He saw more guards come running before a third explosion occurred. The ceiling came crashing down and buried several guards. More explosions rocked the entire facility, cracking the walls and ceiling and burying the people alive.

 

Donghae looked around his room trying to find anything that could cover him from the falling debris when an entire section of a wall peeled away, sending a cold blast of fresh air into the room. The sun was already setting behind a frozen mountain range, coloring the sky pink with streaks of yellow and red.

 

He didn’t stop to marvel the sight though, as he was still trapped in the facility. His room was five floors up from the ground, meaning that he could not survive a jump to escape, or at most live with a broken leg.

 

_There is only one way._

 

He backtracked a bit and started running towards the opening. Right before the edge, he jumped as far as he could into the air and closed his eyes. He imagined his body glide through the air like a bird.

 

He opened his eyes and as expected, instead of plunging to his death, he is soaring through the air and slowly fall to the ground. However, he almost immediately felt sick and weak as his body is quickly drained from the use of his limited powers. The effect of constant dose of the pill and physical weakness caused Donghae’s powers to be extremely weak and last only seconds. He tried to remain concentrated on slowly fall to the ground but failed, sending him into a freefall.

 

He yelped as his left ankle first contacted the icy pavement, immediately knew that he sprained it. His powers allowed him to freefall at a much lower height, explaining why he didn’t die from the fall. He felt like the world was spinning around him as his eyes were trying to focus but his pounding headache was doing the opposite.

 

Donghae gritted his teeth as he stood up. He saw a gate, now blown open by the explosions, that lead to a winding road down the hill and out into the forest.

 

He glanced around to see if there were any guards and desperately limped as fast as he could to the exit, trying to ignore the freezing coldness of the pavement and the flaring pain from his sprained ankle.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae stepped on the gas and sped his way as fast as possible on the slippery road to the column of smoke. It was tricky to find the road that led to the location, but thankfully he had a GPS on him that he could estimate the location and navigate the unknown roads.

 

He didn’t know why he automatically felt the need to drive to the site when he saw the smoke. _Probably because I am a doctor, it is my responsibility to provide aid after all._ He thought dismissively to himself.

 

Eventually he reached a hill where the pavement led up to a gate. Since the smoke was coming from right behind a broken gate, Hyukjae deduced that this was the right place and drove uphill.

 

He noticed a figure limping out from the gateway. He got out of the car and ran toward the figure.

 

“Hey! Are you alright? Are you seriously injured anywhere?”

 

Hyukjae gasped when the figure suddenly yelped and fell on the pavement. He quickly rushed to the fallen person.

 

Upon a closer inspection, he realized the person was in a terrible condition. His clothes were burnt and tattered, practically leaving him naked. His left ankle was twisted in an awkward angle, indicating that it was sprained. The young man looked no older than Hyukjae was, but the shivering, frail body told him that he was severely malnourished and physically weak. His skin was deathly pale. He had long, messy, white hair and a pair of exhausted brown eyes, darker than Hyukjae’s. He was covered in soot and dust, but it didn’t hide that there were bloody scars all over his body.

 

Hyukjae gently lifted him and tried not to put weight on the injured ankle. “Are you okay? Are there anyone else in the building? I’ll call the ambu-”

 

“No! Please…” The man suddenly said with fear in his eyes. “Help me…get out of here.”

 

Hyukjae was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

 

“Please…help me, it hurts, I can’t go back.” There were tears welling in those brown eyes.

 

Hyukjae was still processing the words when he heard someone yelled. “There he is!”

 

Hyukjae looked up and saw some people running out of the burning building. He was about to ask them if they require assistance but froze when he saw they were heavily armed.

 

“Let him go, or you will die.” The leading guard warned and readied his gun.

 

Hyukjae’s blood ran cold. This situation reminded him of something disturbingly familiar.

 

He looked down at the frail man’s face. His eyes were pleading and the pained look broke Hyukjae’s heart.

 

“Please. Save me. Don’t leave me…” The stranger repeated those words before he rolled and closed his eyes, his entire body became limp.

 

That was when Hyukjae made his decision.

 

_I won’t let someone die in front of me anymore because of my inability to stand up._

 

The building let out another explosion, which was enough to distract the guards for Hyukjae to pick up the almost-weightless body and make a run to his car. By the time the guards recovered from the explosion, Hyukjae already had placed to body in the backseat and climbed in the driver’s seat. He could see the stranger was trying to stay awake, but he was rapidly losing consciousness. Hyukjae was sure that the man will definitely be knocked out when they reached the destination.

 

He reversed the car down the hill while the guards shot at the car, breaking his windshield and showered Hyukjae with broken glass. Hyukjae ignored the pain while he stomped on the gas and drove forward as soon as he reached the base of the hill, away from the burning facility behind him and the stranger.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

It had almost been an hour before Hyukjae pulled into the hospital’s parking lot. The sunlight had faded away and it was quite dark. The adrenaline was still running wild in his blood. The stranger, on the other hand, was completely unconscious in the back of the car. His chest was barely rising and falling.

 

When he stopped the car, Eunhyuk saw Sora and Leeteuk rushed out to meet him. He had called them during the ride from the facility. The urgency in his voice let them know that there was something very wrong, and both of them came rushing to the hospital.

 

“Hyukjae, are you okay? What happened to your car?!” Sora gasped when she approached him.

 

“What happened to him?” Leeteuk said when he saw the man in the back seat. “I’ll bring a stretcher immediately.”

 

“Sora, I’m fine, just a little bit shaken.” Hyukjae told his sister. “Please help me with this man, he was in a terrible shape when I found him.”

 

“But-”

 

“I’ll explain later to you and Leeteuk. Please help me get him onto the stretcher. Careful with his ankle, its sprained.” Hyukjae said when Leeteuk came back with the stretcher.

 

They rushed to the emergency room, drawing some curious eyes from both patients and staffs along the way. “Sora, can you ask the head to authorize a private room for this patient to stay? Also tell him that I will be working overtime today. Leeteuk and I will take care of him.” Hyukjae asked. Sora nodded and walked off.

 

Hyukjae first began to strip the man off the burnt rags and gently washing some of the dirt off the body to inspect the injuries. There were long scars and slashes everywhere, some faded and some new. He noticed that there were marks and bruises around the ankle, wrists and neck, which indicated signs of some sort of confinement. There were also many small puncture wounds on his arms that Hyukjae believed to be caused by needles.

 

Hyukjae gently rolled the body to the side to inspect the back, and he suddenly felt very sick.

 

_What in the actual fuck did they do to him?_

 

Beside the appearance of more scars, the man’s rear was covered in bruises. However, what made Hyukjae truly sick was the sticky, white substance around and leaking from the hole. He exchanged a glance with Leeteuk, whom looked equally sick, and he knew both man reached the conclusion that it was definitely not from the unconscious man in from of them.

 

They went to work immediately. They cleaned the body thoroughly to prevent any infections, though they were extra careful around the rear. As a safety measure, Hyukjae gave the stranger anesthesia to prevent him from waking up. Leeteuk quickly fixed the sprained ankle while Hyukjae worked on stitching the deep scars. Although this was not the hardest surgery that Hyukjae had done, he took a slightly longer time to be sure that everything was looked over and treated properly. Although Hyukjae was able to treat the exterior injuries easily, he would have to wait until tomorrow to see if there were anything wrong inside the body

 

Sora came back to the emergency room. “The head gave you permission with Room 1106, but he would like to speak to you next morning about this after since the whole situation is very sudden.” She paused and looked at Hyukjae in the eye. “What happened?” Sora asked.

 

Hyukjae sighed and told Sora and Leeteuk what happened after he left the hospital.

 

Sora looked like she was about to throw up when Hyukjae informed her about the man’s injuries. “It’s good that you brought him here. Poor him…he must not have seen the sunlight for a really long time. Just look at his skin.”

 

“Let’s move him to the room, I think all we could do now is to let him rest.” Leeteuk said. Sora and Hyukjae murmured in agreement.

 

It was already almost midnight when they placed him in bed. Leeteuk bid them good night as he left for home. Sora kissed Hyukjae on the cheek and said she was going to leave as well, jokingly stated that her husband was a bit miffed when Sora suddenly left the house without trying his new recipe for dinner.

 

“What about you? Are you staying with him?” Sora asked.

 

“Yea pretty much have to. I mean there isn’t anyone else that is with him, and I don’t want him to freak out after, you know, waking up in a completely new place.” Hyukjae shrugged and commented sarcastically. “Well there goes my weekend.”

 

“Haha. Alright then I’ll go now. Want me to bring some food tomorrow? I’m sure my husband made a lot of food for dinner. Your arms…” Sora trailed off.

 

Hyukjae looked down and see that his arms are full of small cuts. “Don’t worry it’s just from glass shards, it will heal in no time. And food sounds lovely. Oh, before you go, can you take this to the lab? Have them analyze the DNA sequence of both and send me the results.” Hyukjae handed her two small tubes. One was the white substance, the other was a blood sample. “Tell them just leave the results on the coffee table here when they are done.”

 

Sora nodded and left, Hyukjae turned his attention to the stranger lying on the bed. His breathing has evened and looked a bit more…peaceful?

 

“What did they do to you?” Hyukjae muttered and reached out his hand to trace a scar on the man’s neck. He stopped short.

 

_What am I doing?_

 

Why was he touching the patient?

 

Hyukjae quickly put his hand down. He didn’t want to be a creep, especially to this man.

 

He also realized this was the first time that he ever truly cared for someone. He treated hundreds of patients, but he never actually cared about them personally. Hyukjae was lost in thought when the stranger began to twitch his hand and move.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae woke up to…nothing.

 

Well, nothing at the moment. He was still dazed but his senses were returning slowly. He recognized the moon in the sky outside of a window, and the feeling of a bed -an actual bed- under him.

 

_How did I get here?_

 

Then his memories came back full force. He remembered stumbling out of the front gate before he started to lose his senses. He remembered that there was a man getting out of a car and ran towards him. Then it was a blur of sounds: shouts, loud _bangs_ , broken glass, and screeching car tires afterwards as he spiraled into darkness.

 

He turned his face and his eyesight fell upon the man who saved him. Startled slightly, he yelped and tried to move away.

 

“Shh. Shh. Shh. It’s alright, you are fine.” The man quickly said. Donghae noticed that the man was dressed in a white coat, covering what he was wearing a couple hours earlier when they first encountered each other.

 

_He is a doctor?_

 

“Thank you.” Donghae wanted to say but he was nervous around in the new setting. He wanted to say thanks for the man who got him out of that horrendous place, but his stammers were coming back. He had not heard any kind words for a really long time.

 

But is he truly a kind person? After being locked up for 5 years, it was hard for Donghae to be around people.

 

It will take time for him to trust the man.

 

The other man just smiled.

 

“Hey, um, not to mean any harm but,” the man said carefully. “Can you tell me your name? I need it for the medical record.” Donghae noticed that there was a pen in his hand with a notepad.

 

Donghae avoided his gaze and hesitantly spoke. “L-Lee Donghae.”

 

“Hello, Lee Donghae. My name is Lee Hyukjae. You may call me Dr. Lee.” Hyukjae smiled. He had a wide gummy smile that made Donghae felt warm and welcoming on the inside.

 

Donghae tried to smile back, but it didn’t quite form properly on his face. He hadn’t smiled in a while now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for Donghae. It's hard to write his POV. :(
> 
> Next: Chapter 2: Spring Day
> 
> (Usually I would name the chapter title to have a double meaning)
> 
> I'm finished most of Chapter 2, just need to proof-read. It should be out in 3-4 days.
> 
> Chapter 3 would take a little longer. I have one last exam for uni at the end of the week so the writing would take some time.
> 
> Again, Comments and Kudos appreciated :)
> 
> Update: Chapter 2 out on April 26, 12:00 AM EST
> 
> Update 2: Chapter 2 would be out earlier (April 24, approx. 2:00 EST) due to some personal reasons. Chapter 3 is still scheduled to be up by late next week. Sorry for the constant updating.


	3. Chapter 2: Spring Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Because the dawn right before the sunrise is the darkest.”

“How old are you?”

 

“27.”

 

Hyukjae looked up from his notepad, surprised. “Oh, so you are the same age as me then. Is it okay that I talk to you casually?”

 

“Um, sure.”

 

“Alright then Donghae. Do you have any family members that you could contact?”

 

The other man froze and responded a moment later. “I don’t know.”

 

Hyukjae stopped writing. “You don’t know?”

 

“I…lost touch with them 5 years ago.”

 

“Okay, sure.” Hyukjae said quickly, feeling the awkwardness in the air. There were more spots to fill on the medical record, but he felt that they were going to be blank anyways, such as the home address. Donghae was not carrying around any sorts of ID either when Hyukjae carried him into his car.

 

_He was trapped for 5 years?_

 

Hyukjae stood up and stretched. “Thank you for your response, Donghae. I’ll go now and visit you tomorrow morning. You will need to go through some physical checkups as well. Good night and rest well.” He gave a final smile at him and turn to leave.

 

“Wait!”

 

Hyukjae stopped as he was about to open the door. “Sorry?”

 

“Could you,” Donghae said hesitantly.  Hyukjae could see he was blushing slightly under the moonlight. “Could you please stay here tonight?”

 

“What?” Hyukjae was so surprised by Donghae’s words that he forgot to use his professional voice. “I mean, do you need something?

 

“I don’t want to be alone.” Donghae quietly said. Hyukjae felt like he was talking to a shy little kid. He may not be the best in psychology, but Hyukjae could tell that what Donghae needed the most was some comfort. There wasn't anyone else around to stay and watch Donghae since his family’s whereabouts were unknown.

 

_5 years could really do something._

 

“I will stay then.” Hyukjae said slowly. “Let me just put some things away. Be right back.”

 

He quickly went to his office to sort things out and came back with a clean blanket that he took from the storage. Hyukjae sat down on a couch and spread out the blanket. “Do you mind looking away for a moment? I’m going to take off my shirt.” He said with a slightly embarrassed tone.

 

Apparently Donghae didn’t realize that he was staring. “Oh. Um. Sorry.” He turned the other way and faced the window. “Good night.”

 

“Night.” Hyukjae answered and laid down on the couch. Not long after he could hear Donghae’s little snores and he smiled to himself. _Cute._

 

Hyukjae closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind to fall asleep. But he couldn’t because there were a million questions swirling around in his head. _What will he do after he fully recovered?_

 

 _What will_ I _do after he recovered?_

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes. The soft sunlight was shining down on his face. The bed was so much more comfortable than the one he had back in the cell. He hadn’t had a good night sleep in a while.

 

He turned his body and found the doctor sleeping on the couch. His mouth was slightly open and was drooling a bit. His black hair was so messy that Donghae thought it was a bird nest at first.

 

Donghae smiled to himself and suddenly remembered what the doctor said last night.

 

_“You will need to go through some physical checkups as well.”_

 

He began to panic. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by his emotion and he heard something shatter. Donghae looked around and saw the glass vase on his nightstand was now a mess of broken glass and flower petals, water dripping down to the floor.

 

Shit.

 

His powers were returning. Full force.

 

 _I didn’t take the pill yesterday._ Donghae realized. _I was about to, but the explosions happened._

 

His powers also allowed him to have heightened sense. Now that his powers were returning, his eyesight turned so sharp that he could see every single speck of dust on top of the nightstand. The cover and his hospital gown felt a bit more ticklish. He could smell the disinfectant from outside the door.

 

Unfortunately, his emotions also felt a thousand times stronger due to his sensitivity.

 

The sound also woke Hyukjae up. The half-naked doctor was so startled that he fell off the couch -the scene would have been funny if Donghae wasn’t panicking- but he quickly stood up and saw the mess beside Donghae’s bed.

 

“Sorry, I accidentally hit it with my hand when I tried to stretch.” Donghae said quickly.

 

 _Damn it, Donghae. Stop breaking stuff and control yourself._ He didn’t want Hyukjae to find out about his powers.

 

Hyukjae relaxed. “It’s fine. How are you feeling?”

 

“Much better than yesterday. And, um, can you…can you put on your shirt?” Donghae said. His cheeks are burning red, and his powers was not helping.

 

Hyukjae looked down, forgot that he took off his shirt from the night before. The young man had a toned, lean but muscular body. Obviously, he worked out a lot. Donghae wondered how did Hyukjae had the time to go to the gym while being such a busy doctor.

 

_Damn, he’s hot._

 

Hyukjae’s cheeks turned equally red. “Sorry.” He quickly put on his clothes and froze when he saw Donghae’s face. “Your eyes…”

 

 _My eyes?_ Donghae was confused.

 

“Your left eye…it’s not brown.”

 

His appearance also changes when he was agitated as well? Donghae never knew because he was always in the testing room when his powers were used and tested, the reflective surface was too far away for him to see himself clearly. He couldn’t see anything wrong when he was in his cell either when it was suppressed by the pill.

 

Well, there went his effort to hide his secret.

 

“Donghae, please don’t lie to me about anything. I am your doctor. I need to know what is wrong.” Hyukjae said firmly.

 

_There is no way out of this._

 

Donghae looked at Hyukjae in the eyes. Not knowing what his own eyes looked like now, but it sure did capture Hyukjae’s attention. “Can you promise me that you keep this a secret?”

 

Hyukjae nodded. Donghae still didn’t know if he could trust Hyukjae, but there was no one else left whom he could talk to.

 

“I have these…powers…that I developed when I got kidnapped and imprisoned in that facility.” Donghae said slowly. “They injected something into me, expected me to die within minutes. But I survived somehow and changed.

 

“I basically have the power to move things with my mind, and I also gained heightened sense and it is hard to control. I tried my best to not use it because it usually resulted in something bad. They noticed the change and did experiments on me.”

 

Hyukjae was silent.

 

“There is usually a pill that I take to suppress it. However, since you helped me escape, the effect of the pill wore off and the powers returned when I woke up this morning. I got agitated because I realized that my powers are back and accidentally broke the vase with my mind.”

 

Hyukjae stared at him for a few seconds. “Can you show me?”

 

Donghae hesitated, but he decided to concentrate anyways. He imagined a shard of glass and drew circles with it in the air. It worked, as Hyukjae looked at the floating glass in the air with bewildered eyes. The glass shard was easier to control since it was lighter than his own body, but Donghae was still feeling weak and the glass dropped onto the floor.

 

Donghae closed his eyes and curled into a fetal position. He braced for Hyukjae to say something harsh. He expected Hyukjae to shun him like everyone else and kick him out.

 

“Is that why they kept you for 5 years? Because you are different?”

 

Donghae opened his eyes. Hyukjae was still looking at him, but there weren’t any signs of disgust, fear, or hatred on his face. Instead, it was full of sympathy and worry.

 

“You don’t…you don’t find me-”

 

“Weird? Disgusting? Repulsive? The only thing I find disgusting is what they did to you.” Hyukjae said as he pointed at something on the coffee table beside the couch. Donghae noticed that there was a sheet of paper on it. “I noticed the stuff when I was stitching your wounds last night, and I requested DNA sequencing with a sample of your blood. This is the result from the sequencing and as I expected, the stuff wasn’t from you.”

 

Donghae felt embarrassed that Hyukjae noticed the stuff. There was clear anger in his voice, but Donghae knew that it wasn’t aimed at him. “You don’t-”

 

“No, Donghae. I see you as a normal human being, no matter what those guards did to you and how much different are you from regular people. I am truly sorry for what you have been through for those 5 years.”

 

Those kind words reduced Donghae to a puddle of tears. “It wasn’t even part of the experiments. The guards called me a freak and they did this almost every night. In the morning I was forced to go through so many tests that was so torturous that I wished to die. No one answered my pleadings.” Words just keep spilling out from his mouth like the tears in his eyes. “I was so lonely. It hurts so much.”

 

Donghae wasn’t sure why he just opened up to Hyukjae, a man who only knew him for not even 24 hours, but he just can’t hold it to himself anymore. The long, excruciating years inside that facility had left him completely broken. He wanted to be free from that pain, but that moment never came.

 

Until now.

 

“Donghae…” Hyukjae said slowly and quietly. “Can you, just for a moment, pretend that I am not your doctor? Pretend that I am someone you knew, like friend or acquaintance?”

 

Before Donghae could even respond, Hyukjae stepped forward and wrapped his arm around him, careful not to hurt Donghae’s scarred body.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Hyukjae repeated softly. “You are fine now okay? You are safe here with me.”

 

Donghae was now sobbing against Hyukjae’s collarbone. He felt safe and comforting around Hyukjae, allowed him to ease the pain from the past.

 

When Donghae finally calmed down, he pulled away from Hyukjae. “Thanks for not pushing me away.” Donghae said with a teary smile. It felt great to be able to smile again.

 

“I know that I asked you to do a lot of things already, but…Can we not pretend to be friends?” Donghae asked. “Can we be actual friends?”

 

Hyukjae smiled warmly at him. He brushed Donghae’s tear-streaked cheeks dry with his thumbs. “Whatever makes my patient happy.”

 

Donghae smiled back and this time he pulled Hyukjae into a hug.

 

 _I have a friend now._ He thought happily to himself.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“What did I look like?” Donghae asked. He stood against the bathroom door unsteadily with a toothbrush in his mouth.

 

“Hmm?” Hyukjae looked up from his breakfast with a mouthful of apple. He was sitting down on the floor with his food on the coffee table. He already washed up and brushed his teeth after he assured Donghae that he will stay with him for the physical checkups. Hyukjae asked a nurse to bring both of them some food and told Donghae to do whatever he needed to do to get ready for the day. Donghae insisted that he could walk by himself, he just felt a little bit weak because of his ankle.

 

“You said that my left eye was not brown earlier.” Donghae said. His eyes returned to normal after he calmed down. “I never seen myself when I used my powers because there were no mirrors.”

 

“I can’t exactly describe what color was it...” Hyukjae said slowly. “It kept changing colors, but I think sometimes there was one color being more accented than the others. They were blue when you were crying.”

 

“Really? That’s cool. I’ll be sure to have a mirror next time.” Donghae said jokingly.

 

“Be sure not to break the mirror before you look then.” Hyukjae replied with a silly grin on his face.

 

Donghae snorted and went back into the bathroom to finish washing up. His white hair was messy from sleeping, so he quickly washed and dried it with a towel, but his hair was now spiky that he looked like a white porcupine.

 

Donghae came out of the bathroom and sat down across the coffee table from Hyukjae. He looked down at his food and was taken aback from the colors: the redness of the apple, the pale sheen of the porridge, the orange-brown of the slightly burnt croissant.

 

His stomach let out a loud growl.

 

Hyukjae laughed. “You must be very hungry.”

 

Donghae nodded with a blush. Hyukjae’s laugh was infectious and made Donghae chuckle a little bit.

 

Donghae took a bite out of the apple and his eyes widened. “Wow. It’s so sweet! Already much better than the stuff I ate back in that place.”

 

Hyukjae looked at him. “What stuff?”

 

“I don’t know. Some gooey gray stuff that tasted like nothing.”

 

“Ew. That doesn’t sound healthy.” Hyukjae frowned. “I think your hyper senses also might be contributing to the taste as well.”

 

“Probably. My senses didn’t return to normal when I calmed down. I think it is a passive thing now.” Donghae replied while savoring the sweet apple juice in his mouth.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

There was a knock on the door as they ate while chatting.

 

“Come in.” Hyukjae called out.

 

The door opened and Sora stepped in. “Hello brother. I got some food for you.” She lifted her arms and both were holding a large bag of food in each.

 

“He made that much food? I’ll never be able to finish it.” Hyukjae complained.

 

“Maybe you can share with…Donghae, was it? I’m sure that he can eat it with his conditions.” Sora turned her attention to the other young man who was quietly munching on his apple. “Sorry that I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Lee Sora, Hyukjae’s sister. I also work as a nurse here.”

 

Donghae shyly waved his hand. “Hi. Nice to meet you.” He said timidly.

 

Sora smiled. “I am also here to inform you that your checkup is in an hour. Please be ready by then. I think Hyukjae can show you the way.”

 

“Okay. Thanks.”

 

Sora turned back to Hyukjae. “Take good care of him, okay?” Sora said. Donghae gave the two a puzzled look.

 

Hyukjae knows what she meant, he saw the concern in her eyes when she was talking to Donghae.

 

“Yep I will.” Hyukjae assured her as she left the room. Hyukjae noticed that Donghae was nervously nibbling on the apple.

 

“Hey, are you alright? You will be safe, I promise.” Hyukjae asked. He knows why Donghae was so nervous about the checkup. “Do you want me to come with you to the checkup? I don’t have anything scheduled today.”

 

“That would help. Thanks.” Donghae said. “What are they checking?”

 

“The regular checkup things. Like your eyes, uvula, ears, all the stuff that you hated doctors touching when you’re a kid.”

 

Donghae snorted. “That’s it?”

 

“Pretty much.” Hyukjae said. “Afterwards there would be some checkup on the things inside your body. Um, is it okay that…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Is it okay that I check up on you myself on those? I want to see how the stitches are doing, and an X-ray of your ankle too.” Hyukjae said. “Also, I want to make sure other parts of your body are doing fine, so there would be some other scans. I only went through your external injuries yesterday during the surgery.”

 

Donghae looked a bit hesitant. He wrapped the apple core in some tissue paper and put it on the side. “Well, I guess I’m fine. You are my doctor after all, Dr. Lee.”

 

“Okay then. And no need to call me Dr. Lee. Just call me Hyukjae.” Hyukjae smiled. “We did establish that we are friends, right?” He was trying to make Donghae feel more comfortable around him. The physical checkup was already spooking him too much this early in the morning.

 

“Alright, Hyukjae it is.” Donghae pronounced the name slowly, trying to get used to it.

 

Hyukjae grinned wider and stood up to dispose the dirty food tray. “I need to talk to the head of the hospital for a bit. Be back in about 15 minutes. Go watch the TV or something while you wait for me.” He stopped at the door and look at Donghae. “Hurry up and eat, slowpoke. At this rate you will be late for the checkup if you keep nibbling.”

 

“Shut up.” Donghae grumbled but was giggling a little.

 

Hyukjae laughed. “Nice hair too, porcupine.” That earned him a piece of croissant which was flung at him from the sitting young man. He dodged and ran out the doors, still laughing a bit even when he reached the elevators.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“…And you took him back to the hospital?” The head asked, looking up from the medical record in his chair. His polished name tag sat on the corner of the table: Adrian Lee.

 

Hyukjae was standing in front of an older man in a large office. The view outside the window was breathtaking, overlook the entire Seoul skyline in the glistening ice.

 

He shuddered. Hyukjae wished that it was spring, it would have helped ease the intense stare from the head. Instead, the pristine white made the room feel even more oppressing and cold.

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“You didn’t call the police? Even after you came back here?”

 

“No, Sir. The situation was very sudden. They were heavily armed and I kind of panicked. By the time that the surgery was done, police were already investigating at the scene.” Hyukjae pointed at the newspaper on the table. Even though the incident only occurred the day before, it was already the headline by the next morning.

 

“I called service to tow your vehicle away, since it was drawing too much attention.” Adrian said. Hyukjae remembered that his car was covered in bullet holes with no windshield. “If you need transportation, please ask any staff here, as I had informed them about the situation.”

 

Hyukjae nodded slowly. It will be quite annoying to find a staff and ask them to borrow a car. But that won’t be an immediate problem as he had to take care of Donghae in the hospital.

 

“Does the patient have anywhere to live after he recovers?” Adrian asked.

 

“Oh.” Hyukjae realized. “No, he doesn’t. He was held captive for five years from what I know of.”

 

“Are you just going to throw him out once he can be released?”

 

“What?! No!” Hyukjae exclaimed. “Well…I don’t know what to do…”

 

Adrian studied his face. “You seem to be quite fond with him.”

 

Hyukjae nodded. “He trusted me since I rescued him, and he opened about what happened to him. He needed a lot of support, because he was damaged more mentally than physically.”

 

Hyukjae paused. _Why was the head interested in Donghae so much?_

 

Come to think of it, the head looked suspiciously like Donghae…

 

Hyukjae wanted to kick himself. How did he not notice sooner? If Donghae dyed his hair black, gained some weight, and given a pair of glasses, he would look identical to Adrian!

 

“Sir? By any chance…are you related to Lee Donghae?” Hyukjae asked hesitantly.

 

Adrian stared down at the name on the medical record for a long time. Finally, he let out a sigh and looked up at Hyukjae. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

 

“Yes…I’m his brother.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae was swinging his legs while sitting on the edge of his bed. He had finished his breakfast and was now watching TV. The caretaker had come in to take care of the mess that he made when he woke up. Donghae found a show called _Super TV_ and he loved it. He was laughing along with the people on the show, especially at the game punishment part where one of them had to sit in an ice bath and be dumped on by more ice water.

 

He looked out the window. The view was incredible, overlooking the tall skyscrapers with crystal white mountain ranges in the background. Although the wintery view was breathtaking, Donghae couldn’t wait until the ice and snow melted, signalling the start of his favorite season, spring.

 

He looked at the digital clock beside his bed. It has been almost 30 minutes since Hyukjae left.

 

_What is taking him so long?_

 

Then he heard the door opened and Hyukjae stepped in. “What took you so long?” Donghae pouted. “You said you would be back in 15 minutes.”

 

Hyukjae smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I had to go see the doctor for the checkup to give him your medical records. It took a while for me to convince him that I will stay with you throughout the process.”

 

Donghae noticed Hyukjae seemed troubled by something, but he decided to ignore it.

 

“Ah, I see.” Donghae said. “Watch TV while we wait?”

 

“Sure.” Hyukjae grinned and sat down beside Donghae. Together they watched and laughed at the TV, while feeling the warmth of each other.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae guided Donghae through a series of hallway and elevators to his examination room. He was only half aware that Donghae was walking along behind him. He was thinking about the conversation he had with the head.

 

_“Why won’t you come meet him?” Hyukjae asked._

_“I do want to very badly…But I can’t.” Adrian said. “It’s too painful for him and me right now.”_

_“But you are his brother!”_

_“Hyukjae, please. Please listen to what I have to say very carefully. Please don’t tell Donghae about this.” Adrian pleaded. Hyukjae was shocked that there were tears in his eyes._

_“My real name is Lee Donghwa. I was unwillingly involved in Donghae’s kidnapping 5 years ago.”_

_Hyukjae was stunned._

_“And I was the one who caused the explosions yesterday.”_

 

_Hyukjae took a step back, taking in all of these shocking revelations._

_“Hyukjae, please…”_

 

“Hyukjae?”

 

_“Promise me these things, okay?”_

 

“Hyukjae, hello?”

 

Hyukjae snapped back to reality. He turned to see Donghae observing him with concerned look. His honey-brown eyes were staring into his under those white hair.

 

“Y-yea?”

 

“I think we can go in for the checkup.”

 

He realized that they were standing outside the examination room already.

 

“Oh. Oh, yes. Let’s go.” Hyukjae said, shaking off his thoughts about the conversation and opened the door.

 

The room was a bit smaller than Donghae’s room. It has a bed beside the window with a bunch of medical equipment on the side. In the opposite side of the room, the doctor looked up from his paperwork and smiled.

 

“Hello, you must be Lee Donghae. I am Dr. Choi Siwon.” Siwon said with a cheerful voice. “I will be doing your physical checkups today. Do you have any questions before we start?”

 

“No, Sir.”

 

“Alright then, let’s get started. Please sit on the bed and take off your shirt.”

 

Donghae nodded and did what he was told. Siwon took out a stethoscope and placed it over his heart. Then he pressed and hold over various parts of Donghae’s body with his hands. He rolled his left foot a bit, which caused Donghae to wince slightly.

 

“Nothing seems to be broken and your heart is beating healthily.” Siwon reported with a smile on his face. “The stitches are doing their job. The bruises will recover by themselves overtime. Your foot is still recovering from the sprain, so I would recommend not doing any running or put any excessive force on it for a few days.

 

“You are, however, severely underweight so I suggest you to take more food, and some supplements as well. Exercise would help the process a lot too. Other than those, you are fine.” Siwon said.

 

“On a side note…Did you dye your hair? It is strange because your scalp didn’t seem to be damaged from bleaching and your hair looks fairly natural.”

 

“No, I didn’t, Dr. Choi. It just suddenly turned white one day.”

 

“How long ago did it turn color?”

 

“About 3 or 4 years ago.” Donghae didn’t go into details.

 

Siwon turned at Hyukjae and they exchanged a look. “I thought it was fictional…” Siwon muttered.

 

“What was fictional?” Donghae asked, but it was Hyukjae who replied.

 

“It is called the Marie Antoinette Syndrome.” Hyukjae explained. “As the name suggests, it was first documented from Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. From the records of some observants, the queen’s hair suddenly turned white overnight. It was hypothesized that it was caused by extreme stress, as the queen was captured and subjected to execution by beheading.”

 

“But it was thought to be fictional as no one else in history was reported with the same case, and there was no significant scientific research that looked into it.” Siwon continued.

 

“Oh…” Donghae managed to say. Hyukjae noticed that he was getting uncomfortable by this conversation.

 

 _Well, the hypothesis seemed to be correct after all._ Hyukjae thought.

 

“Hey, Siwon. Is the physical checkup complete?” Hyukjae said, wanting to end the awkward atmosphere.

 

“Hmm? Oh, yes. You need to perform scans on him, right Hyukjae? I’ll not waste anymore of your time then.” Siwon said, then he turned to Donghae. “Don’t worry much about your hair. I think it should turn back to normal if you relieve yourself from stress.” He gave him a reassuring smile.

 

Donghae nodded. Together he and Hyukjae left the room. They stood at the door for a moment, both wanted to talk about Donghae’s condition but they just couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

 

“Let’s go? The machines would take some time to start up. Luckily the room is fairly close.” Hyukjae finally said.

 

“Sure.” Donghae answered and he followed Hyukjae down the hall.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“What scans do I have to go through?”

 

“Well, I need to do an X-ray on you to see if any of your bones are broken. I would like to run an MRI as well.” Hyukjae said as he pushed open a door. The room was much bigger than the examination room, lined with giant machines that were used for different scans, separated by sliding doors. There was another door on one of the walls, leading to a room where the controls were. The control room could see what was going on in the scan room with a large window on the wall.

 

Hyukjae noticed Donghae stopped on his feet. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

 

“This room…is similar to the testing room back there.” Donghae said quietly. He was shuddering a bit. The window reminded him a bit too much of the dark, reflective surface back in the facility.

 

“Oh.” Hyukjae said. Donghae could see it in his eyes that he realized that Donghae was uncomfortable about this whole setting.

 

He turned and gently grabbed Donghae’s bony shoulders. “Hey, look at me. It’s alright. The machines won’t harm you. I promise.”

 

Donghae looked at him in the eyes, he still had some fear in his own but he relaxed his shoulders. “They won’t?”

 

“They won’t.” Hyukjae said firmly. “However, they will if you have any metal objects on you, which I am pretty sure that you don’t. Let’s start with X-ray then?”

 

Donghae nodded. Hyukjae went around the back and took out a lead vest. “Here, wear this. I am going to examine your head first. Stand on the mat when you are ready.”

 

Donghae took the vest and put it on. The vest was very heavy and Donghae had some trouble breathing. He shook away the thought of the metallic shackle around his neck that haunted him during his time in the testing room as he stepped towards the mat, facing the machine in front of him.

 

“X-ray scan starting. Commence section isolation.” Hyukjae’s voice came through a speaker. The sliding doors made a faint whirring noise and closed, separating the X-ray from other machines.

 

Donghae shivered. He didn’t like the speaker either.

 

“Sorry about the speaker as well.” Hyukjae noticed. “It is a standard procedure that I have to follow.”

 

Donghae sighed. He noted to himself to avoid this room as much as possible in the future.

 

The X-ray scan didn’t take long. Hyukjae asked him to take off the vest and he scanned the rest of the body. The sliding doors opened and Hyukjae asked him to wait for him at the MRI machine. Donghae walked over and sat beside the pillow as Hyukjae slipped out of the control room with something in his hand.

 

“Okay, don’t freak out. I am going to inject this into you. This won’t do any harm, but it helps by making the MRI scan clearer.” Hyukjae said. Donghae identified the object in his hand was a syringe filled with some clear fluid.

 

“I don’t have to come back here again, right? This room is definitely not my favorite place in the hospital.” Donghae grumbled and winced as the tip pushed into his arm.

 

“Relax your arms, it won’t be as painful that way. And yes, you don’t have to come back unless you injure yourself again.” Hyukjae said as he gently pulled the needle out.

 

Donghae huffed. “Good.”

 

Hyukjae just smiled. “Lie down.” He ordered as he returned to the control room.

 

The MRI didn’t take long either, but Donghae waited for a long time before Hyukjae asked him to come to the control room.

 

“Good news. Based on the X-ray, you don’t have any internal injuries.” Hyukjae said, as he pointed to the scans. “The MRI…”

 

“Something wrong with my nervous system?” Donghae asked.

 

Hyukjae was surprised. “How did you-“

 

“I studied pharmacology when I was in university.” Donghae said with a shrug. “I do know some science, but it’s now rusty since I was, you know, taken.”

 

Hyukjae seemed happy that he could share some scientific knowledge with Donghae, but he continued. “Yes, your nervous system. It is very different from regular human structure.”

 

“Different?”

 

Hyukjae pointed at the MRI scans. There were a lot more scans than the X-ray.

 

Donghae frowned. “Why is my brain shaped so…complex?”

 

Donghae had seen pictures of the brain before, but he was shocked from looking at his own. There were a lot more folds in the cortex, and more compartments in the central area around the hypothalamus as well.

 

“Here are the scans for the rest of the body.”

 

Donghae’s eyes widened even more. He knew how complex the human nerves were, but his was even more so. There were so many neurons that the scan made them look like massive chunks.

 

“The images didn’t show, but the composition and structure of your neurons were changing constantly while I was scanning. Some were branching out while others decayed away. It almost looked like it was alive by itself.”

 

Donghae was stunned. “They injected something in me that cause my nervous system to change.” He muttered. “It is now highly developed and causes my telekinesis and hyper senses.”

 

Hyukjae nodded grimly.

 

“I-“ Donghae stammered. He looked down at his own hands, trying to visualize the dynamic neuron network inside him.

 

_What have I become?_

 

“Donghae?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae closed his eyes. He could feel the hysteria inside him rising. His entire body started to tremble. He could hear the monitors started to buzz and lights flickering. He could feel himself losing control of his own body.

 

_I'm a monster._ _A being that shouldn't exist._

 

“Donghae!” Hyukjae yelped. He opened his eyes and saw Hyukjae jumped away from a pen that shot across the room.

 

Hyukjae avoided a piece of paper and managed to grabbed Donghae’s shoulders. “Donghae? Donghae! Stop. Please. Focus on me.”

 

It was difficult, but Donghae managed to look up and stared at those chocolate eyes. Somehow, he relaxed a bit when he saw those colors.

 

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but I need you to stay calm. Like what I said earlier this morning, you are still human, no matter how different you are.” Hyukjae said. “Also, I can’t have you to destroy the entire hospital.” He added, trying to lighten the mood.

 

Donghae tried to breath more slowly, but the panic was still there. Hyukjae sighed and gently pulled him into a light hug, while patting his back as if he was comforting a small child.

 

Donghae looked around and saw that the room was a complete mess. Materials scattered across the floor. He saw himself in a piece of broken mirror and for the first time he saw his changed eyes.

 

While his right eye remained the same light-brown shade, his left eye was swirling kaleidoscope colors, from deep shade of navy blue to the bright golden yellow. As he calmed down, the colors faded and returned to the same color as his right eye.

 

"My eyes…" Donghae muttered. Hyukjae turned his head a little and saw him looking at the shard of mirror.

 

"I told you not to break the mirror before you look." Hyukjae scorned him lightly.

 

"Sorry."

 

Hyukjae felt Donghae relaxed and wrapped him into a tighter hug. “All good now?” He whispered, still patting Donghae’s back.

 

Donghae smiled into Hyukjae’s muscular shoulder. “Yeah.” He murmured. “Thanks.”

 

Hyukjae laughed softly and stroked the back of Donghae’s head affectionately, making Donghae’s heart flutter. “Good, now help me clean this up. I don’t want the next doctor that is going to use this room to come after me.”

 

Donghae slowly pulled away and stared into those chocolate eyes. He felt something in his mind that had never been there before. Something that only Hyukjae could give him.

 

Comfort.

 

Happiness.

 

Love.

 

He was silent for some time. Just as he felt something that had never felt there, he also said something that he never said before. Before he could even consider whether saying it or not, the words were already rolling out of his tongue.

 

“I like you, Hyukjae.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“I like you, Hyukjae.”

 

Hyukjae was caught off guard by those words. He knew he was blushing, but he couldn’t think of anything to hide it.

 

Because he had developed feelings for Donghae too.

 

Ever since when he first met him at the frozen gate, he wanted to protect Donghae from the evil things in the world. Donghae was such an innocent being that had suffered a tragic fate.

 

Just like him years ago.

 

He had someone to protect, someone he could stand up for.

 

Someone he could live for.

 

_“Promise me to keep him safe.” Donghwa said._

_I will, with my life._

 

He recalled earlier this morning he had this morning, and how he thought that he hated the wintry view outside Donghwa’s window. Then he shifted back to present and focused on the pair of honey-brown eyes in front of him.

 

_Perhaps it is spring after all._

 

Hyukjae smiled at Donghae. He reached out his hand brushed away a strand of white hair on Donghae’s face.

 

“I like you too, Donghae.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the ship has sailed :)
> 
> Next: Chapter 3: Crimson Eve.
> 
> May 4, 2 PM EST. (I wrote May 6 by accident, sorry guys)
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3: Crimson Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It’s you who I’ve been looking all over for.”

_3 Days Later_

 

“Hae, get up! It’s 11 already!” Hyukjae said as he barged in through the door of Donghae’s room. He was carrying a large bag in his left hand and tossed it on the couch. He walked directly towards the curtains and threw them open, casting the bright sunlight directly onto Donghae’s face.

 

Donghae groaned and turned his body just to bury his face into the pillow. His white hair was a mess that he looked like a mad scientist. Hyukjae could hear Donghae cursing in the pillow before he managed. “Just five more minutes, Hyuk…”

 

It was Tuesday, three days after the physical checkup. Hyukjae said he had to clean his house so he didn’t sleep in Donghae’s room for those days, but he would visit Donghae several times a day, ate meals together, and bid farewell before he went home. They had gotten really close and started to call each other’s nicknames.

 

“Get up, sleepyhead, I have some great news for you.” Hyukjae said as he shook Donghae’s shoulders. When that didn’t work, Hyukjae turned Donghae over on his back and pecked his forehead with his plump lips. Automatically, Donghae giggled shyly and opened one of his sleepy, honey-colored eyes. Hyukjae found out about this two days ago, when he accidentally bumped his lips as he stood up to dump out the food containers. Ever since that small incident, Hyukjae had been repeatedly doing that to make Donghae smile and laugh.

 

Donghae yawned and stretched as he sat up from his bed. It had only been four days since he came to the hospital, but Hyukjae could see that he was looking much better. His skin had become not only less pale and translucent, but a more healthier shade of vanilla. He had put on a little weight that his shoulders didn’t feel as bony as before when Hyukjae shook him. The eyes still looked a little vacant, but the bags under his eyes had disappeared.

 

“What news?” Donghae said groggily while fully opening his eyes.

 

Hyukjae stared at the pair of irises. He loved how the light-brown eyes shined even brighter under the sunlight, turning it into a more golden shade of brown.

 

“Hyuk? Hello? Earth to Hyukjae?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, sorry.” Hyukjae snapped out of his trance and smiled. “Good news number one, you will be discharged from the hospital today.”

 

“I will?” Donghae asked while his grin disappeared a little. His wounds had healed significantly under Hyukjae’s care, and his ankle didn’t hurt any more as he walked around. “But where do I live? I don’t even know where my family is.”

 

“With me, dummy.” Hyukjae rolled his eyes.

 

Donghae’s eyes widened. “Really?!” He asked excitedly. His mouth opened a little to form a wide, puppy grin. Hyukjae adored that look so much.

 

“If that’s okay with you.” Hyukjae answered. Hyukjae knew Donghae would love to hang out around him more. “Until we find your family.”

 

He knew the last part would never happen, especially when Donghwa wanted to stay away from Donghae.

 

“Yes!” Hyukjae laughed at his reply and ruffled his hair.

 

_The three promises._

_“One, promise me to keep him safe.” Donghwa said._

 

“Alright, calm down there, I haven’t gone through the second news yet.” Hyukjae said. “Good news number two, I have been invited to an event this Friday.” He said as he pulled out an invitation card from his pocket and gave it to Donghae.

 

Donghae took the card. The card itself was red, decorated with gold flakes and oriental patterns. “A blood moon viewing? What’s so special about it?” Donghae asked as he read the details on the card.

 

“The event is hosted by the President himself, as this is a celebration for his seventh year of his presidency. It will be held at the Resort over three nights, starting on Friday. It’s also a very special event because the blood moon will last over all three nights, an occurrence that had never happened before in history. Coincidentally, it is also Lunar New Year. Many important figures in Korea were invited by the President to attend.”

 

“The Resort?”

 

Hyukjae pointed outside at the N Seoul Tower. “The President built a huge luxury area a few years ago around the tower, usually only high officials and celebrities had access.”

 

“And you are invited because you are the best doctor in Korea?” Donghae teased.

 

“Don’t say that.” Hyukjae blushed. “It is because our hospital is renowned in Korea. Leeteuk, Siwon, and a couple other doctors are invited too.”

 

“What about the head of the hospital?”

 

“He…had something to do, so he said he couldn’t come.” Hyukjae said slowly, reminded himself that Donghwa didn’t want to meet Donghae, at least just not yet. Donghwa himself had told Hyukjae that he would have some matters to take care of during the period of the event.

 

“Anyways, the card said that the recipients could invite one guest each, so I was wondering…” He trailed off.

 

Donghae raised an eyebrow, but Hyukjae didn’t continue. “Oh…you are asking me to come with you?” Donghae said.

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Are you okay though? Going to a three-day event with so many people?”

 

“I think so…Just promise to stay with me at all times in case that I panic?” Donghae asked. He was still shy and nervous in front of strangers, and the thought seeing hundreds of people didn’t really help with his anxiety.

 

Hyukjae gave him a gummy grin. “I promise.” He said, happy that Donghae said yes.

 

“Thanks. Now about me discharged from the hospital…what do I wear? Do I have to wear my hospital gown outside?”

 

“If you want to.” Hyukjae said and laughed at Donghae’s flustered face. “Just kidding.” He said as he reached for his bag, Hyukjae pulled out and tossed Donghae a hoodie, sweatpants, shorts, socks, and a pair of shoes. “Here, wear this. You can borrow my clothes when you are living with me. We are leaving in an hour, so go wash up and eat your breakfast.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae looked around in amazement. He was stunned to see how much Seoul had changed within 5 years. Tall skyscrapers, huge electronic billboards, and fancy cars whizzed by. Hyukjae had to borrow a car from Leeteuk because his was trashed after the escape four days ago, which Donghae was partially guilty about. Hyukjae said that it would take a week or two for it to be fixed.

 

Hyukjae stopped at a red light and looked at Donghae by his side in the shotgun. “This is my first time seeing someone so giddy from just looking around Seoul.”

 

Donghae blushed and squirmed in his seat. Hyukjae’s clothes were a little too big for his skinny body, but it was really comfortable and warm.

 

“Oh, I forgot to ask you something. What do we wear for the celebration?” Donghae questioned.

 

“I’m not sure. According to the program that came with the invitation card, a group of stylists would come and make us look pretty. Each group is designated for everyone and their guests per institution. They would meet us at a specific place for the next two days to take our measure, decide on what we wear, and what makeup do we need. They also would be with us throughout the duration of the event for whatever makeup and clothing that we need.” Hyukjae explained.

 

“Does that mean that they have to look at my body?”

 

“Pretty sure, but I don’t think they will ask you any questions about what happened during those fitting sessions. It is part of contract about the confidentiality of guests.” Hyukjae reassured him. Donghae let out a sigh of relief.

 

About ten minutes later, Hyukjae drove into the garage of his apartment. His apartment had an ultra-modern look: twin buildings with exteriors made entirely out of glass and steel, one was a deep shade of blue while the other was a light shade of black. The floors were perfectly circular, staggered slightly as it stacked towards the sky to look like a spiral. The buildings intertwined with one another to form a double-helix structure. _Like a DNA_ , Donghae thought to himself.

 

He parked the car and went up the elevator with Donghae following. They stopped on the 50th floor -the top floor- and walked down a short hallway to a pair of doors made out of black oak. Hyukjae opened the doors with his keys and Donghae’s jaws dropped.

 

“Your apartment is the _entire fucking floor_?!”

 

Hyukjae blushed. “I don’t really like to show off in front of others, so I don’t usually talk about my wealth.”

 

The doors opened directly onto Hyukjae’s doormat, leading to an expansive living room with a white marble floor. A huge TV hung on the wall, while a large painting hung on the other. Large, comfy couches sat in a semicircle around a large coffee table. A pair of glass door that opened to the balcony, offered a fantastic view of the frozen Han River. The living room curved around on both sides of the elevator to the other parts of the apartment: a spacious kitchen with a bar, a library with a piano, and a door leading to the bedroom and bathroom. The balcony also circled around the proximity as well, with another glass door in the library.

 

“You bought all this from all your earnings as a doctor?” Donghae asked with admiration.

 

Hyukjae was taking off his shoes, but he stopped for a bit. “Mostly. Some came from my heritage as well.”

 

“Heritage?” Donghae asked before he slowly realized. “Oh…your parents…”

 

Hyukjae nodded.

 

“Sorry.” Donghae said quickly. The air was getting really awkward and he figured that it’s not something good to have on the first day of living with Hyukjae. He changed the subject. “May I go explore?”

 

“Sure.” Hyukjae said as he tossed his car keys on the coffee table. “Just don’t go into the bedroom yet, it’s a bit messy right now. I also need to find a toothbrush for you as well.”

 

Donghae wondered around a little while Hyukjae went into the bedroom to clean up. He loved the style of Hyukjae’s home: wooden furniture with fancy lights, sections of dark grey bricks contrasted with the usual white cement wall, marble island table in the kitchen with some old wine bottles lined in the middle. _Vintage but modern_. Donghae noted.

 

He walked into the library and noticed that the floor was covered by a soft, maroon carpet, which soaked up the sound of his steps. Donghae walked up to the shelves was fascinated by the all the books. Most of them were medical-related, along with many biology and chemistry textbooks, along a smaller section filled with some fictional books that Donghae recognized. The black grand piano in the middle, with a stack of sheet music laid beside one of the legs of the piano. The slightly dusted surface indicated that Hyukjae didn’t play often.

 

“You can play if you want.” Came Hyukjae’s voice. Donghae looked around and saw him coming out of the bedroom with a mop. “Do you know how to play?”

 

“I do, but I play the guitar more. Easier to carry around.” Donghae sat down in front of the piano. He brushed his hands on the keys, trying to remember the songs that he used to play. When he decided on one, he raised both of his hands and played a chord.

 

_Damn, I didn’t know I missed playing piano so much._

 

He began to play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”, one of his favorite piece back when he was in university. Donghae would play the piano when he felt studying was getting way too stressful, expressed his own struggles through the emotional pieces. Now in Hyukjae’s apartment, “Clair de Lune” became a piece that was a mirror of his life: the happy, peaceful years in his early life, then the turmoil that followed, and finally the return of happiness when he met Hyukjae.

 

Hyukjae was silent after Donghae played the last note, still holding the mop. It was a long time before Hyukjae finally spoke. “That was beautiful.”

 

Donghae’s thin lips pulled apart and grinned. “Thanks.”

 

His smile faltered a little. He noticed there were tears in Hyukjae’s eyes. “Hey…are you okay?”

 

“It’s just…that piece was my mother’s favorite. She always played it on the piano when she was still alive. After she died…I just can’t listen or play it because it reminded me so much of her.”

 

Donghae bit his lips. _Look what you did Donghae, this is the second time today._

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad.” Donghae said as he stood up from the piano. “Do you want me to make lunch?”

 

“You can cook?”

 

“Some very basic things…and depends on what you have in your fridge.”

 

Hyukjae nodded. “I will finish cleaning up then.”

 

Donghae gave a little hug to Hyukjae as he walked into the kitchen. He could tell that Hyukjae was not exactly an open person, and he didn’t want to push it. Donghae could also tell that Hyukjae wanted to look strong and confident, but whatever painful history of him was trying to tear down that mental wall.

 

_Let him talk about it by himself, Donghae. It’s not like you are his psychologist or something._

 

He opened the huge fridge and found that it was filled with mostly leftovers from takeout, along with several bottles of soju. _A doctor who doesn’t eat healthily._ Donghae thought with amusement as he rummaged through the food.

 

_Rice cakes…chili pepper paste…green onion…maybe tteokbokki?_

 

Donghae took out the ingredients and added all of them into a pot. Tteokbokki was one of the easiest things that he could make. It didn’t take long and only require a few ingredients. In no time, he served the food in a large plate with some kimchi and set it on the island table. He then added two boiled eggs just to make it look a bit fancier.

 

Hyukjae came out and sniffed. Donghae noticed that he still looked very depressed. “Damn, that smells _good_.” His stomach rumbled.

 

Donghae chuckled. “It’s not much, but it’s enough to fill both of us. Do you not cook and just order takeout? That’s not really healthy.”

 

Hyukjae shrugged. “I live a simple life, and I’m lazy.”

 

“Lazy? You overfilled your schedule with surgeries and you’re saying that you are _lazy_?” Donghae teased him, trying to cheer him up.

 

“Oh, shut up.” Hyukjae sat on a bar stool and took a pair of chopsticks. He picked up a rice cake and stuffed it in his mouth. His eyes widened. “You should become a chef.”

 

Donghae blushed. “Oh, please. It’s just tteokbokki.” He sat down and the two chatted throughout lunch.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae munched on a hamburger. They spent the entire afternoon watching TV and chatting. By the time night falls, even Donghae got lazy and called the takeout. Two large hamburgers arrived within 20 minutes and both were devouring them in an instant.

 

“They make some good shit.” Donghae said with a mouthful of hamburger.

 

“Swallow before you speak, Hae. Don’t choke yourself.” Hyukjae said. “You see why I order takeout?”

 

“It’s still unhealthy.”

 

“Whatever. Soju?”

 

Donghae flashed his cute grin that always made Hyukjae’s heart flutter slightly. “Sure.”

 

Hyukjae stood up from the couch and walked to the fridge to pull out two bottles. As soon as he closed the door, one of the bottles flew out of his hand and landed in front of Donghae.

 

Hyukjae laughed. “You could’ve gotten us both by yourself.”

 

Donghae just shrugged. “I want to test my powers but I also don’t want to accidentally rip your refrigerator doors apart.”

 

“Can you show me more?” Hyukjae asked as he plopped down on the couch and twisted the cap open.

 

Donghae gave an evil smirk as his left eye glowed mischievously. Suddenly, the content in Hyukjae’s bottle flew out and formed a ring around Hyukjae’s head. With a snap of his fingers, some droplet was flung right into Hyukjae’s eyes.

 

“Yah!” Hyukjae squinted painfully, trying to squeeze out the alcohol while Donghae just laughed hysterically. He willed the rest of the alcohol to go back into the bottle.

 

“I’m going to get you back on this.” Hyukjae growled as he drank.

 

“How so?” Donghae challenged.

 

Without warning, Hyukjae lunged at him and began to tickle Donghae. Donghae squealed as he fell flat on the floor with his arms tucked in, trying to protect his sides and armpit from Hyukjae’s fingers, which wasn’t very effective. “Hyukjae! Please! I’m sorry!” Donghae tried to plead but he couldn’t stop laughing. He had nowhere to escape as Hyukjae pinned him down from above.

 

Hyukjae was laughing too, and he didn’t stop for a full minute until he pulled Donghae back up from the floor. They drank more and Donghae performed more tricks with his mind. Soon they were getting tipsy: Hyukjae’s words started to slur, while the objects in the air started to wobble as well. It was then they decided to shower and call it a day.

 

Donghae took the shower and brushed his teeth first, while Hyukjae waited in the bedroom. When Donghae opened the door, he was wearing a pair of pajama pants that Hyukjae gave him since Donghae didn’t want to wear a shirt when he sleeps. “Your turn.”

 

Hyukjae went into the bathroom. The air was warm and humid from Donghae’s shower. He quickly washed himself and brushed his teeth. However, his drunk mind was somewhere else, thinking about the piece that Donghae played on the piano. When he walked out with only pants on, he found Donghae sitting there on the edge of his bed, playing around with his telekinesis.

 

“Donghae?”

 

“Hmm?” Donghae replied as he juggled a pillow, a book, and a digital clock in the air.

 

“Were you happy with your family?”

 

The floating objects froze in the air, and they drifted back to where they belong before Donghae looked up at him. “A long time ago, yeah.”

 

“Me too.” Hyukjae said as he sat down beside Donghae. “But haven’t you tried to make contact with them?”

 

“I don’t know if they are alive or not. My mother died when she gave birth to me. It was just me, my brother, and father. My father was often away on business trips, so my brother took care of me most of the time. The last time I saw them…it was the night when I got kidnapped.”

 

Hyukjae waited.

 

“We were driving home in a car. It was the day of my last exam at the university. We stopped at a light when suddenly a car came out of nowhere and hit us. I don’t remember anything after the hit except the sound of glass breaking, screams, and a gunshot…Then I woke up in my cell at the facility.”

 

Hyukjae bit his lips. He couldn’t tell Donghae that his brother was partially responsible of the kidnapping, since it was a promise with Donghwa. Instead, he slowly began to talk about his own tragedy.

 

“My sister and I were living happily with our parents in a fairly small house. My mother and father owned a huge pharmaceutical company, but they never spent it to buy a huge mansion or anything. We had everything that we needed and wanted.”

 

He never told anyone about that night in details, even with Leeteuk. Hyukjae would simply said that his parents died in an accidental fire because it was too painful to retell the event. Perhaps that he was slightly drunk, the alcohol seemed to make the words come out a bit easier.

 

“It was 7 years ago, when I was home for the summer after my second year of university. I woke up in the middle of the night to my parents’ shouting. I crept downstairs and found my parents arguing with a man that I never seen before. The man saw me and immediately threatened my parents with a knife that he would kill me if my parents didn’t give him what he wanted.

 

“The knife didn’t scare me much because I know taekwondo. I charged at him, but he grabbed my mother and held her with the tip of the knife at her throat, warning me to go back upstairs.”

 

_“Hyukjae, please just go upstairs. We could handle this.” Father said._

_“But Mom-_ _²_

 

_“Honey, it’s okay. Go upstairs and be with your sister.” Mother said with a strained voice._

_“You heard her. Get out of here.” The stranger snarled._

 

“I really wanted to help my mother, but I was so afraid for getting her injured or killed. I had no choice but to go back upstairs to my sister’s room and woke up Sora. We were both wondering if we should call the police until smoke began to fume out from under the bedroom door.”

 

_The unbearable heat. The roaring inferno. The ash in the air._

_“Mom! Dad! Where are you?”_

 

“He had set the house on fire, it had spread out so much that Sora and I were trapped upstairs. Mom and Dad were still downstairs. Only Sora and I made it out of the house by making a rope out of bedsheets and blankets.”

 

_A wooden beam that was on fire suddenly collapsed and landed on his arm. He yelped in pain and stumbled away from the burning staircase._

_“Hyukjae! Come on! There’s no way we could go that way. We had to escape through the window.” Sora said, desperately trying to drag him away._

_“But-"_

_“Mom and Dad will find a way out by themselves, Hyukjae. They are smart enough. Let’s go!”_

 

Hyukjae shook his head, trying to shut out the memory. _If only he had stayed, maybe the man wouldn’t have killed them._

 

He looked down and turned over his right wrist. Although most of it faded away, there was a long burn mark from the burning beam that ran down the length all the way to the crook of the elbow.

 

“Afterwards, Mom and Dad’s bodies were found, but the corpse were burnt beyond recognition that there were practically only blackened bones left. The stranger didn’t leave any evidence behind so Sora and I couldn’t accuse anyone with murder. There was nothing left of the house, even the piano…

 

“Our aunt and uncle took me and Sora in, but they don’t exactly care about us. They only cared about their share of heritage as an exchange of taking care of us in the will. The pharmaceutical company that our parents owned closed down since the will did not say anything about me or Sora would be the heir if they died.

 

“I fought with aunt and uncle almost every day, and I ran away from home many times and slept at Leeteuk’s place. It became even worse when Sora graduated from nursing school and moved away with her soon-to-be-husband boyfriend. When I finally got a job as a doctor 2 years ago, I earned enough money and bought myself a place to stay. I had never seen or talked to them since.”

 

Hyukjae finished talking and realized that tears were streaming down his face like an endless waterfall. He looked away from Donghae and wiped away some of the tears. “Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s fine.” Donghae said softly. “I didn’t know that your parents were murdered, and I’m sorry for reminding you of them today. Twice.” He gently wrapped his arms around Hyukjae and put his head on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, Hyukjae. It must have been so hard for you to keep this to yourself.” He mumbled, rocking Hyukjae’s naked upper body slowly. The dam inside Hyukjae finally broke and he sobbed hard.

 

After a long period of time Hyukjae finally stopped crying. He sniffled against Donghae’s collarbone. “It’s not really fair for you to share your past but I don’t share mine”. Hyukjae said as he took in a deep breath. Donghae smelled like the flowery shampoo in the bathroom, with a faint trace of apple wood.

 

He lifted his head and stared at those honey-brown eyes. “Stay with me tonight?”. The whole situation was the reverse of the first night when they were in the hospital room, with Donghae asked him to stay. It was also the reverse of the scanning room as well: Hyukjae was now in Donghae’s arms instead of the opposite, sniffling in the other’s shoulder.

 

Together, they lay beside each other on Hyukjae’s bed and snuggled up, chests touching each other. Hyukjae stroked Donghae’s cheeks with his thumbs, while the other did the same to him. It was at that moment that they realized the same thing.

 

“We are not that different, aren’t we?” Hyukjae said with a sad voice. “The world is just so unfair.”

 

“No, we’re not.” Donghae agreed. “But after meeting you…I realized that we could make it better in this unfair world.” He pulled Hyukjae closer and nuzzled his face in Hyukjae’s naked chest. “I’m glad that I met you, Hyuk. I’m much happier than before.”

 

Hyukjae smiled a little. “Me too. Thanks, Hae.” He buried his own face in Donghae’s fluffy white hair, breathing in the sweet smell. He was glad to have Donghae around. Someone who could understand him.

 

He lifted his head and leaned down a little to peck Donghae on his forehead. “Goodnight.”

 

Donghae pulled his thin lips into a sleepy smile in response, then unexpectedly, he stretched out his neck and kissed Hyukjae on the cheeks. Hyukjae felt the spot burned warmly a little, even after Donghae curled back in his chest.

 

“Night, Hyuk.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Soft, golden sunlight casted warmly into the bedroom through the silk curtains when Donghae woke up. Hyukjae was still cuddling him, making Donghae feel very warm that he wanted to fall back asleep. His face was buried in Hyukjae’s muscular chest, breathing in the pleasant smell of cologne. Hyukjae’s chest expanded and contracted rhythmically as he snored.

 

Gently, Donghae removed his face from the chest and look up. Hyukjae’s sleeping face was so peaceful, as if the talk last night didn’t happen at all.

 

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to move and wake Hyukjae or stay in his arms. Before he could decide, Hyukjae stirred a little and opened his eyes. He looked down at Donghae and gave a small smile. “Morning.”

 

Donghae loved staring at those warm, chocolate eyes. He snuggled up closer and flashed a puppy smile. “Morning, Hyuk. Did you get a good night sleep?”

 

“Yeah, it was a lot better with you.” Hyukjae responded as he hugged tighter around Donghae’s back, shifting the white sheets a little. “I don’t want to get up.”

 

“Me neither. Do you have any surgeries today?”

 

“Oh, did I forget to tell you? Since we are going to the President’s celebration, my schedule had been cleared off from today to Sunday. We are supposed to go to our fitting sessions, and simply just rest until Friday.” Hyukjae said as he played with Donghae’s hair.

 

Donghae shifted himself up until he was at eye level with Hyukjae. He leaned in and bumped their noses together while brushed his fingers through Hyukjae’s messy black hair. “Want to just stay in bed until we have to go?”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Sorry, I just remembered that I have to make some calls. I was supposed to go on vacation this weekend, but since the event is happening, I would have to cancel and postpone my flight to some other time. I also need to make contact with our stylist too.”

 

Donghae pouted. “Ten more minutes?”

 

Hyukjae laughed as he continued playing with Donghae’s hair. “Stop that, you’re too cute.” But Donghae just pouted more until Hyukjae finally gave up.

 

“Fine, ten minutes it is.” Hyukjae sighed and they cuddled some more, enjoying the warmth of each other’s body while playing with the other’s hair.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Want to go shopping today?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Mmm-hmm?” Hyukjae guessed Donghae was asking “Shopping?”, but he had a mouthful of cereal.

 

“You can’t just borrow my clothes forever, you know.” Donghae was wearing still wearing his pajama pants, while he had put on a blue sweater. “And you need a phone too. The shopping district is not far from here, so we could just walk.”

 

“What about our appointment with the stylists?”

 

Hyukjae raised his own phone. “I called them and confirmed that we will meet will be around dinner with the other doctors, so we got plenty of time.” The corner of his lips lifted a little. “It turns out that I know one of them as well. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

 

“Hmm, okay.” Donghae said as he finished his milk and cereal. He paused for a moment, thought about something. “Hyukjae, don’t I need any ID with me to enter the Resort? Since you said only high officials and celebrities could access the area.”

 

“Oh, true…” Hyukjae didn’t thought about that. He was pondering about what to do when suddenly the doorbell ringed.

 

Hyukjae walked over to the doors that lead to the elevator and open it. A man that was wearing a blue cap and a uniform stood in front of him. “Delivery for Mr. Lee Hyukjae?” The man asked gruffly, holding a small cardboard box in one of his arms.

 

“Yes, that’s me. Thank you” Hyukjae said as he took the package. He frowned a little. _I’m sure that I didn’t order anything recently._

 

Hyukjae opened the box and found a small wallet, a note, and a small phone inside. He opened it and saw it had a couple of IDs. All of them belonged to Lee Donghae.

 

He turned his attention to the note. It had a familiar writing on it.

 

_HyukjAe,_

_I tOok thIS from the faCility before I iNitiated the explosions. I fIgured that you need THis for both of you to aTTend THe Celebration. Keep hiM safE. I Wish you guys have fun!_

_Lee Donghwa_

 

Hyukjae took the phone and examined it. There was no brand on it, and there was only one contact in the phone when he opened it. He slid the phone in his pocket and crumbled the notes.

 

“What is it?” Donghae asked.

 

“It’s your wallet, Donghae. Police found this at the wreckage and sent it to the hospital. Sora saw it and delivered it to me.” Hyukjae lied, while throwing the note and the box into the garbage. “Unfortunately, there are no cash, credit, and debit cards, so you would still have to use my money.” He added with a small scowl, trying to get rid of Donghae’s curiosity.

 

Donghae laughed. “Sorry not sorry.”

 

Hyukjae rolled his eyes. “You done eating yet? I’m going to go out without you if keep eating this slow.”

 

“Yep, almost done.” Donghae said as he put the dishes in the sink and washed them. Both of them got dressed quickly and walked out of the apartment. They were discussing what they should buy the entire way down to the lobby.

 

Donghae practically bounced out of the elevator when they reached ground floor. “Come on, Hyuk. Let’s go!”

 

“Coming!” Hyukjae quickened his steps as he followed the oblivious Donghae. However, his mind wasn’t thinking about shopping at that moment. He was thinking about the message.

 

There were so many random capital letters in the notes that it couldn’t be an accident. Hyukjae knew Donghwa wouldn’t make those kinds of mistakes under normal circumstances, so he tried rearranging those letters.

 

_A-O-I-S-C-N-I-T-H-T-T-T-H-C-M-E-W_

_C-O-N-T-A-C-T-M-E-W-I-T-H-T-H-I-S_

 

_“Contact me with this”?_

 

He still had the small black phone in his pocket. _Donghwa wanted to contact with me with this phone instead? Why not just message me through my own phone?_

 

Hyukjae couldn’t help but feel something was not right.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_25 hours ago._

 

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to come with you, Sir?”

 

“Yes. The risk is low enough.” I replied.

 

“But, Sir-“

 

“Yes, I know there would be heavy security and potentially hundreds or even thousands of witnesses, but I already formulated an escape route.” I cut him off.

 

“Very well, Sir.” The voice finally answered after a long silence and hung up, seeing that there was no point of arguing.

 

I sighed and leaned back on my chair, putting my feet up on the mahogany table and stared at the Seoul Tower for a moment.

 

_They worried too much, I am fully capable of this._

 

Everything was going according to plan. Well, except for the explosion last week. Everything that was in the facility was lost. The subject was reported dead as well.

 

_Not that I needed him anymore. I already have what I want from him._

 

The phone rang again, this time a different person called. I picked up and the voice spoke immediately.

 

“Sir, everything is in position.”

 

“Excellent work, Donghwa.”

 

“Sir…what exactly are you planning? You didn’t tell anyone in the organization about your target.” Donghwa asked.

 

“You know that I can’t tell you either, Donghwa. You just need to wait and see. Have a good day.” I said simply and hung up. Even though it was reported the incident was caused by an accidental gas leak, but I could not get rid of the suspicion that there was a traitor. I could not tell anyone about the main goal of this plan.

 

_To create a new world, you must destroy the old._

 

I smiled while playing with the red-and-gold invitation card in my hand.

 

_This is going to be fun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna spice things up a little in the next few chapters (I meant that in two ways). New characters coming up as well.
> 
> Next: Chapter 4: Festival Open
> 
> May 11 approx. 2 pm EST
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! :)


	5. Chapter 4: Festival Open

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Will you hold my hand? You and I, if we are together, we can smile.”

“Exactly how much stuff are you planning on buying?” Hyukjae grumbled.

 

Donghae turned around. He saw Hyukjae carrying about 10 bags of clothing, plus a new phone for Donghae that he was carrying around in his pocket. Donghae had asked why they didn’t buy a charger, to which Hyukjae replied that the technology had developed by absorbing energy from the ambient environment, including sunlight and traffic noises. They had been shopping for more than three hours and Donghae still wanted to buy more. He made Hyukjae carry everything except for a black trench coat that they, or Hyukjae, just bought because it was cold.

 

“Just a few more.”

 

“My banking statement is going to be outrageous next month.” Hyukjae said. “Am I your personal wallet?”

 

“At this point, yeah pretty much. I don’t have any money, remember?”

 

Hyukjae just grunted since he couldn’t argue with that. He was shivering a bit from the cold since he wore less than Donghae. “Want a hug?” Donghae asked while opening his trench coat a little bit.

 

Hyukjae nodded and walked into Donghae’s arms. Donghae wrapped the coat around Hyukjae as he sighed in relief from the warmth, ignoring strange looks that were thrown at them from other shoplifters.

 

 _What are we now?_ Donghae wondered as he hugged Hyukjae. They promised to be friends in the beginning, but now they seemed to be much closer. They even had kissed each other, not on the lips of course. _Boyfriends? Lovers?_

 

Hyukjae groaned in his neck. “Can we go home please? My arms are so sore. This is even harder than working out.”

_Let’s think about it another time, the next few days are going to be busy._

 

“Fine.” Donghae said. “But just one more thing.”

 

“What?”

 

Donghae let go of Hyukjae and pointed to the window of a toy shop. There was a huge Nemo plushie displayed at the front.

 

“Oh my god Donghae. You are not a five-year-old kid.” Hyukjae said with disbelief.

 

“Pleeeeeease?” Donghae gave Hyukjae a look with puppy eyes. Hyukjae was silent for a few seconds, then he relented.

 

“I can’t believe that I am the same age as you.” Hyukjae muttered as they walked into the shop. “You are carrying this one. If I carry one more thing, I think my arms will break.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“I’m tired.” Donghae yawned. They just finished eating lunch where Donghae cooked up some magic from takeout leftovers. He collapsed onto the giant Nemo plushie on the floor of the living room. They went against the idea of putting Nemo in the bedroom since it was half of the size of the bed.

 

“Tell me about it.” Hyukjae rubbed his sore biceps. “Do you want to take a nap? There are still like four hours left before we go.”

 

Donghae considered for a moment. “I don’t see why not.”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Go sleep, I need to make a call to Dong- the head for a meeting next week.” He cursed himself for nearly exposing the secret.

 

After Hyukjae made sure that Donghae fell asleep in the bed. He opened the small phone and pressed the number in the contact. After a few ringing, Donghwa picked up.

 

“Good afternoon, Hyukjae.” Donghwa spoke through the speaker. “How are you?”

 

“I’m fine. We have our fitting session tonight.” Hyukjae answered. “Why don’t you want to contact me through my own phone?”

 

“Because it is not a secure phone, Hyukjae. Our call could be tracked and eavesdropped. The phone you are holding right now is completely secured and impossible to be hacked.”

 

“By whom?” Hyukjae asked. “You mean…them?”

 

He thought back to the conversation four days ago.

 

“ _The organization is still very active.” Donghwa had said. “The facility is just one of the thousands of buildings owned by the organization.”_

 

“Yes. I believe the leader is suspicious about the explosions being caused by someone within the organization instead of accidental causes. He is now being very secretive and will not leak the main goals of his plans to anyone.”

 

“Leader? You mean…”

 

“Yes, the director at the research facility is not the leader. And I’m sure that he was not present at the facility when the explosions happened.”

 

“And this concerns me and Donghae because…?”

 

“The leader will be at the President’s celebration, Hyukjae.”

 

Hyukjae’s blood ran cold. “What?!”

 

“From what I know, he has the invitation card. However, I do not believe he is targeting you or Donghae.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I had reported Donghae dead from the incident in the database and destroyed the medical record as well. There are no surveillance footages on his escape with you as they are destroyed from the explosions. The leader has no reasons to believe Donghae is alive.

 

“Despite this, I am here to warn you about the celebration event. From what he had instructed me to do, there will be dozens of men from the organization attending the events, for all three nights including the leader himself. The leader had also instructed me to gather a large amount of arsenal, so I am suspecting that this is a very crucial operation.

 

“Although you two are not targeted, but please minimize interactions with strangers. Keep Donghae with you at all times. As for the other doctors and their guest attending, keep them in your sight too since they had met Donghae before.”

 

“Do you know that if they are not targeting the other doctors?”

 

“Highly unlikely. Since the leader is attending the event himself, it would be a much larger figure and a very important operation. I cannot stop or delay this event because I would be immediately exposed as a traitor.”

 

“Are you just going to let the plan go?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Unfortunately, yes. Even though the leader did not expose the true goal of this plan, he would have many backup plans to achieve this goal. No one can stop this.” Donghwa paused. He knew what Hyukjae was thinking. “Hyukjae, don’t even think about it. Even though you may be able to prevent whatever he is planning to do, you will be risking yourself to be exposed. To make matters worse, Donghae would be exposed as well.”

 

Hyukjae wanted to argue, but he stopped himself since he knew Donghwa was right. He couldn’t risk Donghae to be in danger while trying to prevent whatever the leader is trying to do.

 

“I can’t tell Donghae about this right?”

 

The phone was silent for a moment, but Hyukjae knew the answer already.

 

“No, he will panic and things may go out of control, but it should be fine if you guys stay low.”

 

“Why don’t we just decide not to go? We could just avoid being caught up in the whole thing.”

 

“The organization has the guest list, Hyukjae. Although I am positive that our system was programmed not to check the actual identity of who is invited, but the system will check the missing identity if the number of attended individuals is less than the invited, and the attendance of every gathering in the celebration as well.”

 

“So we have to attend every single gatherings? All dinners, moon viewings, entertainments?”

 

“If you have a proper excuse, the staff will allow you to skip and input your attendance as ‘excused’. The system will not check until you exceed the limit, which I believe is five. You can use this to your advantage to keep you and Donghae low-profile.”

 

“Is there any way that we could identify who is in the organization?”

 

“All members of the organization have a tattoo of a black phoenix somewhere on their body. Most have them under one of their wrists, although some use concealment to hide it in plain sight.”

 

“Will you be attending the event?”

 

“I will not be participating. However, I will overlook some, er, behind-the-scenes things so that I can notify you if anything goes wrong.”

 

Hyukjae was quiet as he took all this information in. “Okay, I understand.”

 

Donghwa hummed. “And how’s Donghae doing?” he asked.

 

“He’s doing great. He is taking a nap right now after we came back from shopping. Does he usually act like a little kid? He kind of forced me to buy him a giant Nemo plushie.” Hyukjae complained.

 

Donghwa laughed. “He did that? Oh my, his personalities are coming back. Yes Hyukjae, he acts like a little kid even though he is a 27-year-old man now. There is a reason why his childhood nickname was Fishy. Why didn’t you say no though? I didn’t think Donghae is that persuasive.”

 

“I don’t know…I just…can’t resist when he was begging me to buy it.” Hyukjae said. A small blush was slowly forming.

 

 _Why couldn’t you just say “No”? It’s not that hard._ He wondered to himself. _Is it?_

 

“You must really like him then. Or…do you love him, Hyukjae?” Donghwa teased.

 

Hyukjae’s face was blushing so much that his face was turning into a shade of tomato juice. He wanted to deny it, but deep down he knew he had developed something for Donghae, but he was uncertain if it was just affection or actual love. He was glad Donghwa or Donghae wasn’t present in front of him at that moment.

 

Sensing Hyukjae’s embarrassment, Donghwa just chuckled. “I don’t really mind if you love him, Hyukjae. Just answer me this: is he really happy with you?”

 

“Y-yes. He loves to hang around me.”  Hyukjae said.

 

“Then I’m fine if you guys start to develop a relationship. Remember our promises?”

 

_“Second, give him the love and comfort that I wasn’t able to give.”_

 

“Yes, Sir. Are you sure? Would Donghae mind?”

 

“Donghae is attracted to both sexes for as long as I know, and I see him pretty compatible with you. He is an open kid and you could help guide him. And if you are okay with him, take good care of him then. Do you have any more questions?”

 

“Umm…” Hyukjae thought. He still wasn’t sure about where his relationship with Donghae was going but it was not important at the moment. What could Donghwa give?

 

“Do you have any data from the facility about Donghae? Like his experiments and things? I want to know more about his telekinesis.”

 

“Hmm. I could send you some screenshots. I did manage to retrieve some data when I infect the system with a virus that triggered the explosions. However, it is corrupted so it is not complete, just pieces. Is that okay?”

 

“That would be more than okay, Sir.”

 

“Good. I will send them later this afternoon. Oh, one last thing.” Donghwa said. “Have fun you two. Even though I asked you to lay low at the event, but keep Donghae happy okay?”

 

“I’ll try to. Goodbye, Sir. Have a wonderful afternoon.” Hyukjae said and he turned off the phone.

 

Hyukjae walked into the bedroom and found Donghae laid on his side, snoring. Hyukjae chuckled at the sight and took off his clothes and put on his pajama pants. Slowly without waking up Donghae, he laid down beside him and traced the outline of the sleeping face with his eyes.

 

_“I don’t really mind if you love him, Hyukjae.”_

_“Give him the love and support that I wasn’t able to give.”_

 

Hyukjae smiled and closed his eyes. He scooted closer to the sleeping body and put an arm around it, drifting off to sleep.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“So you said you know one person in the stylists. Who is it?” Donghae asked. They just got off the subway and stepped into a salon. Hyukjae said he didn’t feel like driving so they decided to just use public transport. His raven black hair was not styled and draped down like a curtain around his head, just long enough to cover most of his forehead. Since they were meeting with the stylists, Donghae didn’t try to style his hair as well.

 

“My cousin.” Hyukjae said as he led them to some comfy chairs to sit down. “His name is Kim Heechul. I’m actually quite fond with him because he cared about me when I lived with my uncle and aunt. He was the reason why that I didn’t move out immediately after Sora and I moved in.”

 

“What’s he like? Do you still keep in touch after you moved though?”

 

“Occasionally. He has the complete opposite personality of me. He loves attention, terrible with science, and very, ah, flamboyant. He is also a great relationship advisor.” Hyukjae said while making a face.

 

“You had past relationships?” Donghae asked. He didn’t know why but he was getting a little pissed off.

 

“A few times while I was an undergrad just for fun, so none of the relationships were serious. Heechul joked that I am terrible with relationships, no matter if it’s a guy or girl, and he didn’t bother to give me any advices. I stopped when I got into medical school.”

 

“Oh.” That’s all Donghae could say as he relaxed. He frowned at himself. _Why are you getting so worked up?_

 

Just then, the door opened and four people stepped in. Donghae saw Leeteuk and Siwon within the group and smiled as he waved hello.

 

“Hi Hyukjae, hey Donghae.” Leeteuk greeted with a warm smile. “You look much better than last time.”

 

“Much healthier.” Siwon agreed. “Although still a bit thin.”

 

“Wow, no attention for me?” Hyukjae complained as he got up. “And I see you brought Sungmin and Kyuhyun as your guests?”

 

Donghae saw the other two people in the group waved hello.

 

“Ah, I forgot to introduce you to them, Donghae.” Hyukjae said. “This is Kyuhyun.” He gestured to the taller man with dark brown hair. “And the other is Sungmin.” The shorter man with blonde hair waved his hand.

 

“Pleased to meet you, Donghae. I am Cho Kyuhyun, I work as a pharmacist at the hospital.” Kyuhyun reached out to shake Donghae’s hand. Sungmin did the same and introduced himself as a nurse.

 

“What’s your job, Donghae?” Sungmin asked curiously.

 

“Oh, um. I don’t work…but studied pharmacology when I was in university.”

 

“Why don’t you wo-“ Sungmin was about to ask, but he caught a look from Leeteuk and Hyukjae that told him that he was going into some sensitive subjects. “I mean, if you want to find a job in pharmacology, Kyuhyun would gladly help you. Right, Kyuhyun?”

 

“What?” Kyuhyun was surprised but Sungmin elbowed him. “I mean, of course.”

 

The awkwardness in the air was so thick that Donghae could cut it with a knife. Before any of the five could say anything, the door to the back of the salon was kicked open by something red.

 

“Hellooo bitches!” Said the man who barged in, he was followed by a group of women which Donghae assumed were the other stylists. He noticed they were sneaking pictures with their phones of the man in the lead.

 

The man himself attracted everyone’s attention with his looks. He was wearing a wig of blond hair styled in the shape of a bow tie, eyeliner and red lipstick. He wore a black leather dress, mesh leggings, and a pair of red high heels.

 

Donghae wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or wash his eyes. He turned to Hyukjae. “That’s your cousin?”

 

Hyukjae looked unfazed by his cousin’s look. “Yep. He does this kind of stuff all the time for the jokes.”

 

“I think ‘flamboyant’ is an understatement, Hyukjae.”

 

“Hello, hello! Welcome to my salon!” Heechul gestured. “Please, make yourself a home.”

 

“Stop doing this and act like a guy, Heechul.” Siwon muttered.

 

“No one is asking for your opinion, Church Boy.” Heechul shot back as he whipped off his wig, revealing his shoulder-length wavy black hair.

 

“They know each other?” Donghae whispered to Hyukjae while watching Heechul and Siwon bicker back and forth.

 

“Everyone here knows Heechul. They all met him when Heechul accidentally broke one of his arms and was sent to the hospital. He and Siwon started fighting because of some…religious issues?” Hyukjae whispered back. “I don’t know exactly, but it got worse when Siwon pulled a prank and tricked Heechul into wearing a nun costume. I didn’t bother to ask either of them the details, it’s not much of a serious issue anyways and we are all pretty close.”

 

“Okay, cool.” Donghae said as he tried to wrap his head around the new information.

 

“Alright, look who we have here.” Heechul said, ended his argument with Siwon and turned his head to Donghae. “I never met you before. What’s your name?”  
  


“I’m Donghae. Lee Donghae.” He introduced himself.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m sure Hyukjae already told you who I am. Oh, hi Leeteuk.” Heechul noticed the oldest guy in the group and briefly fixed his hair a little.

 

“Anyways, I haven’t met you before so let’s see what I can work with you, Donghae…” Heechul muttered to himself. After a few moments, he turned to the group of female stylists behind him. “Kims! I’ll leave you to deal with those four, and I’ll work with Donghae myself.” He grinned.

 

The ladies immediately pocketed their phones and rushed to the four guys, while Heechul pushed a hesitant Donghae through the door that led to the back of the salon.

 

Donghae looked back nervously at Hyukjae. The man was staring back at him encouragingly and Donghae got the message. _Don’t worry, he won’t harm you._

 

Heechul led him into a simple white room with standard barber shop setup, only with much more bottles and accessories piled neatly everywhere. There were also racks full of stylish outfits at the back.

 

“Relax, Donghae. I’m just going to take your measures, so would you mind taking off your shirt?” Heechul asked as he noticed Donghae’s tense shoulders.

 

Donghae nodded as he did what he was told. Heechul took out a measuring tape, as well as a pencil and a sheet of paper. He worked at surprising fast speed that all the measures were taken in no time. As Hyukjae promised, Heechul didn’t say a word about the pale scars all over his body.

 

“You must be good at this job.” Donghae complimented.

 

“Aw, thanks. I worked as a stylist for quite some time now.” Heechul replied as he wrote down the last few numbers. “Here, have some water. We are going to be here for a quite a bit of time.” He tossed Donghae a plastic bottle.

 

“Tell me, do you like Hyukjae?”

 

Donghae choked from the sudden question and spewed some water out. “Sorry?” He asked as he tried to cough out the water from his lungs.

 

“Oh, don’t act innocent. I noticed how you two looked at each other.” Heechul rolled his eyes. “I know who’s in love when I see one, and I never seen Hyukjae been so whipped by someone, not even during his time in university when he fooled around.”

 

Donghae was blushing madly when remembered that Hyukjae mentioned Heechul was a great relationship adviser. No wonder Heechul was able to identify the relationships in the room. “Well…I _do_ like him…”

 

Heechul laughed. “Well, I would say you two would make a great couple. How far have you guys gotten?”

 

“Well…We started off as just friends, but we kind of just play around each other more recently, sometimes giving each other little kisses here and there to make the other happy.”

 

“Boring.” Heechul faked a yawn. “Just kidding, I really like to see where this is going. Be patient around him, Donghae. Hyukjae is not a guy who just opens up about him. Also, he likes to do things that are not very doctor-like.” He said with a little smirk.

 

“I noticed.” Donghae said, then he frowned. _Was Heechul giving me relationship advices for Hyukjae?_

 

_“He didn’t bother to give me any advices.”_

 

“Is this why you chose to work on me instead of the others?” Donghae asked as Heechul prepared some towels. “To talk about Hyukjae?”

 

“Pretty much.” Heechul gave him a wink. “I never seen Hyukjae so happy before. This is practically the only time I’ve seen him with a genuine smile since he moved in to my house years ago. I fully support this relationship. Come to me if you are unsure about something in the future.”

 

“Why does your parents hate him so much?”

 

“Most of it is from the jealousy of his parents. I’m sure Hyukjae had told you about his heritage since you live with him. Also, my parents don’t really…support his choice of love interest. They are more traditional.”

 

“But they are okay with you dressing up as women?”

 

“No, they aren’t.” Heechul replied. “I fight with them too, but not as bad as Hyukjae since I’m their son after all. I moved out a couple months after Hyukjae left, since they focused more about me when they were not busy fighting with Hyukjae anymore. Now come here, let me look at your hair.”

 

Donghae complied as Heechul examined his snowy white hair closely. “It looks so natural. You didn’t dye it, right?”

 

“Yeah, it’s just a minor health condition so not a big deal. Siwon asked me the same thing when we first met.”

 

“Don’t mention that dimwit in front of me.” Heechul grumbled as he messed around the hair. “I’m thinking of…hmm…”

 

After a few minutes of silence, Heechul motioned Donghae to the wash basin. “I’m just going to wash your hair. Easier for me to work with your hair and stuff.”

 

“Why are you styling me now? Isn’t the celebration in two days?”

 

“I’m not going to do everything on the day of, silly, that would be just too much stuff.” Heechul said as he massaged Donghae’s hair with shampoo. “Plus, I’m thinking of you to try impress someone.” He added with a smirk on his face. Donghae blushed as he understood what Heechul was saying.

 

“Does this look like a TV drama to you?”

 

“Yes, actually. Trust me, you would be glad that it is I who is talking to you right now, not Sungmin or Kyuhyun. They will basically turn into your relationship’s fan club presidents and will never stop nagging you two. They will try to turn things into something more intense than a TV drama.”

 

After Donghae’s hair was washed and dried, Heechul took him to the chair and began cutting his hair. He went for a simple undercut that cut off most of the hair on the sides, while maintaining the top so that it was just long enough to reach his eyes.

 

“Since your hair is white, it is pretty versatile to choose which hair color that you want. It won’t take very long since your hair does not need to be bleached.” Heechul said as he pulled out a drawer full of hair dyes of different color. “Pick one.”

 

Donghae looked through the choices. “I’m not really sure…which one would you recommend?”

 

“Hmm, black or brown is too dull…I can’t see you going around in a wild rainbow hair either. Maybe platinum blonde or silver? It would look snazzy for the celebration as well.”

 

“Silver sounds good.” Donghae said. Heechul pulled out the dye and went to work. Within an hour, Donghae’s hair turned from pristine white to lustrous silver.

 

Heechul whistled, happy with his work. “You look amazing, Hyukjae would love it! Now just some finishing touches.” He said as he applied some hair gel. “There, done. Want to meet the others after I put on your first outfit and makeup? Kims had ordered dinner before we go and pick out some outfits for you guys.”

 

“Kims?”

 

“The other stylists. They’ve been with me for my entire career like my own fan club that I started to call them that.” Heechul explained as he tidied up the place. “Come, let’s go pick out your outfit. I think they ordered takeout.”

 

“Does nobody eat healthily anymore?” Donghae muttered as he followed Heechul to the clothing racks, his heart was pounding from nervousness about meeting Hyukjae.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hi. You look good.” Came a shy voice behind Hyukjae. The corners of his lips lifted when he heard Donghae’s voice.

 

Hyukjae was carefully picking up the largest slice of strawberry cake into his own paper plate. He was slightly disappointed that the stylists only made his hair curly, and nothing fancy otherwise. “You don’t need any improvement.” The Kims had said. He was wearing a simple black suit with a white dress shirt and black dress pants.

 

_So boring._

 

“Thanks, you look-“ Hyukjae said as he turned around to see Donghae, but he froze and almost dropped his cake like his jaw.

 

_Holy shit._

 

Donghae’s hair was dyed to a brilliant shine of silver that was styled so it was pushed back on his head, with some strands that draped down over the left side of his face, covering his left eye. He had some makeup on his face so his vanilla skin seemed to glow, contrast to his shy pink blush. He was also wearing a grey suit and dress pants, with a black turtleneck underneath.

 

He stared at the beautiful man in front of him with his tongue twisted. His brain had been fried and he couldn’t formulate words until Donghae spoke.

 

“Hyukjae?”

 

“Y-yeah?”

 

“You’re drooling.”

 

Hyukjae quickly snapped out of it and wiped his mouth. “The cake looked delicious.” He tried to make an excuse.

 

“You are a terrible liar, Hyukjae.” Came Heechul’s voice as he walked up to them behind Donghae.

 

“Shut up, Heechul.” Hyukjae shot back before he turned back to Donghae with a blush. “You look amazing!”

 

Donghae smiled shyly. “Thanks.”

 

Heechul rolled his eyes. “Alright, are you two really going to keep up with this compliment session? Or are you getting any food?” He looked around. “Where’s Sungmin? And Kyuhyun?”

 

“Apparently they locked themselves in separate washrooms so that they won’t jump each other. Getting a new look really does something.” Leeteuk replied while eating a piece of chicken drumstick. His hair was also dyed like Donghae, but it was a shade of orange.

 

“Church Boy?”

 

“Still getting his measurements taken. You know how slow he is.”

 

“Of course. I feel bad for the Kims that are with him.” Heechul muttered.

 

Hyukjae grabbed Donghae’s wrists, pulling him to the food table. “C’mon, let’s eat.”

 

“Why are you eating dessert right now? Are you done with other food already?”

 

“Nah, I just like sweet stuff, especially strawberries.” Hyukjae flashed his gummy smile. “What do you want?” He asked as he picked up the tongs and a paper plate.

 

“Salad, chicken, and the chips please. Oh, and the fried squid tentacles as well.”

 

“I’ll leave you to the tentacles.” Hyukjae said quickly as he plated the other foods.

 

“Why?”

 

“I can’t touch them.” Hyukjae shuddered. “I don’t like octopus or squid. Ever since Sora pranked me with a live octopus when I was a kid, I can never eat one of those again.”

 

Donghae laughed as he took the plate, Hyukjae was glad that he didn’t ask for details. But then he picked up a piece of the fried squid and started swinging it in front of Hyukjae’s face. Hyukjae yelped and started running away with his plate of strawberry cake.

 

“Hyuk! Come back here!” Donghae yelled and started chasing after him, his silver hair bounced on his head.

 

As he ran, Hyukjae unbuttoned his shirt so that it was not restricting him to run, but Donghae was surprisingly fast. Just as Donghae grabbed his shoulder with his free hand, Hyukjae accidentally tripped over an electrical cord for a hairdryer, causing Donghae to fall on top of him. Donghae’s food splattered everywhere and the cake was mushed between them. Hyukjae could feel the icing rubbing against his exposed upper body.

 

Hyukjae gasped as he slowly registered Donghae’s weight on him. His face was so close that he could see every single pore around his nose, and his warm breath against his own mouth.

 

_He’s beautiful._

 

Donghae slowly pushed himself up. The cake icing had covered his entire suit jacket, and Hyukjae figured that he was no better. “Heechul is going to be furious at us.”

 

“I’m madder about the cake.” Hyukjae said as he pouted. “It was the largest slice.”

 

Donghae giggled, then he stopped for a moment to consider something. Hyukjae was about to ask him to get up when he leaned down and ate a piece from Hyukjae’s chest, then another one on his abs. Hyukjae could feel the lips and tongue as they collected the cake and the icing. He almost let out a moan of pleasure but he managed to hold it in.

 

_Oh my god._

 

“They’re delicious…Hyukjae? You okay?” Donghae asked as he saw Hyukjae’s stunned expression. His left eye was flickering to a shade of gold under the silver hair.

 

_Did he really just eat the cake off my body?_

 

Hyukjae could still feel the lingering sensation of Donghae’s soft lips over his abs. He saw that the silver-haired man was nervous like him at that moment. He could tell that he was anticipating Hyukjae to push him away.

 

But how could he? Ever since Hyukjae saw Donghae’s new look ten minutes ago, he was falling hard for Donghae. He had never seen such a gorgeous man in his life before. He wanted time to stop just to memorize every little detail of that perfect face.

 

_Now he is fucking licking icing sensually off your abs._

 

“What in the world?“ Came Heechul’s sharp voice.

 

_Way to ruin the moment, Kim Heechul._

 

“Sorry.” Donghae quickly said. The gold color in his eye had faded back to the usual light-brown. “We were just having a little fun but we tripped.”

 

“Now I got to clean both of these outfits before Friday! These are your first outfits the event!” Heechul whined. “And why are you sitting on top of my cousin?”

 

“Oh-um, I didn’t mean to-” Donghae panicked as he got off Hyukjae.

 

“It’s fine, Donghae.” Hyukjae blurted as he got up. Before he realized what he was doing, Hyukjae had wrapped his arms around Donghae’s arm and pecked him on the cheeks.

 

_Jesus Christ, Lee Hyukjae. What are you doing?!_

 

Donghae flinched a little from the intimate gesture. Hyukjae’s heart was racing, hoping that it didn’t scare him. However, the other man slowly smiled. Heechul, on the other hand, was snickering while holding a hairdryer in his hand. Slowly, Hyukjae pieced together Heechul’s scheme.

 

“You bastard. You purposely put it there for me to trip.” Hyukjae growled.

 

Heechul just snorted. “Oh, come on. You guys are already frustratingly close so I thought you two needed a little push.” Both Hyukjae and Donghae were blushing at Heechul’s words. “Plus, I think it’s time for Sungmin and Kyuhyun finds out. They will practically push your heads together to kiss.”

 

“We’re not-“ Hyukjae began to say.

 

“I would predict you guys would be jumping on each other in a week. Max.” Heechul interrupted Hyukjae’s words, purposely shouting as Sungmin and Kyuhyun came in to eat. His shouting caused Sungmin and Kyuhyun to turn their attention to Donghae and Hyukjae, where both of them were still covered in icings. They slowly developed identical evil smiles as they put the pieces together.

 

“I will fucking kill you, Kim Heechul.” Hyukjae hissed.

 

Heechul just laughed. “Fighting!”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_Two Days Later_

 

“Hyukjae, are you ready?” Donghae called out from the living room while brushing his hair. He was sitting on Nemo while watching TV as Hyukjae got dressed. He had already dressed up in his outfit for the day. Heechul had left specific instructions for them to maintain their hair conditions from the day before.

 

“Coming!” Hyukjae answered as he walked out of the bedroom. His curly jet-black hair took Donghae’s breath away. Hyukjae was also buttoning his shirt, which reminded Donghae of the little moment two days ago that still made Donghae blush and heat up.

 

He couldn’t resist doing _that_ to Hyukjae, especially when the icing had outlined his defined abs. “Go along whatever you have in mind.” Heechul had said before he pushed Donghae to meet Hyukjae.

 

“Oh, I forgot something.” Hyukjae said. He fished a little container out of his pocket. Donghae opened it and found a single colored contact that matched with his natural eye color. “Wear it over your left eye, so that just in case something happened, people won’t notice your eye if it changes.”

 

“Thanks. Can you help me put them on? I never wore eye contacts before.”

 

Hyukjae nodded and told him to stay still. With one hand he spread Donghae’s eyelids slightly apart with two fingers, and the other gently putted the contacts over his iris with his fingertip. “There, done. Is it comfortable?”

 

Donghae blinked several times to get used to the contacts, then he opened his phone to check himself using the camera. “Yeah. Where did you get this?”

 

“Heechul. I asked him for one, and he didn’t say much since he thought I have a contact lens collection or something.” Hyukjae made a face.

 

Donghae laughed, then he realized the distance between him and Hyukjae, as he was once again right in his face. For the past two days of never-ending fitting sessions, both of them didn’t talk much to each other since each guest was taken care of separately. “Hyukjae, about that thing two days ago…If I made you feel uncomfortable, I’m really sorry.”

 

“No, Donghae. It’s really fine.” Hyukjae said. On top of the busy schedule, they had been trying to avoid talking about it when they got home because they were still too shy and embarrassed, but Donghae want to get it out because the awkwardness was killing him, especially when they were in bed.

 

Apparently Hyukjae could tell that Donghae wasn’t really buying his words, so he leaned forward and gave him a long smooch on his forehead. “I really meant it. As long as my patient is happy, remember?”

 

Donghae blushed. “Yeah, okay. Shall we get going?” He was still a bit timid.

 

Hyukjae smiled and pecked him on the forehead again before they walked to the elevator. “Good thing that you are shorter than me, Fishy.”

 

“Shut up, Hyuk.” Then Donghae froze. “How did you know my nickname is Fishy? I never told you before.”

 

“What?” Hyukjae looked panicked for a second before he composed himself. “I wanted to call you that since you begged me to buy you Nemo, didn’t you? Fishy seems appropriate.”

 

“Oh, right.” Donghae said as the elevator doors opened. He punched the button for ground floor. “Thanks for buying it though. I really like it.”

 

“No problem, my little Fishy.” Hyukjae gave him a warm gummy grin as the elevator doors closed, sending them to the ground floor.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow 200+ hits! Thanks guys!
> 
> Sorry that there are lots of dialogues in this chapter, but it is needed for the story :) More plots next chapter!
> 
> For reference, Heechul is in his Lady Hee Hee form, rest of SuJu (except Sungmin and Kyuhyun) are in their Black Suit era outfits & looks.
> 
> Next: Chapter 5: Drama Banquet
> 
> May 20, 2:00 PM EST
> 
> Upload dates may be more irregular in the next two months or so because I have summer courses for uni so please understand.
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated!
> 
> Little update: I also opened a twitter account recently (to stalk group promo and stuff)! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123


	6. Chapter 5: Drama Banquet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Why is that the happiest moment usher in sudden fear?"

_Lunar Celebration, Day One (Friday)_

 

The sleek limo drove down the street under the descending sun. Hyukjae had calculated that it should take about ten more minutes until they arrive at the front gates of the Resort. He could see the mountain where the Resort was from his seat, which was more like a giant hill that curved into the sky. Right then he was sitting with Donghae on one side and the rest of the hospital staffs on the other as Heechul applied the last touches of makeup on them.

 

“Hyukjae, it’s your turn so put your strawberry milk down. It will ruin the lipstick.” Heechul said as he finished with Siwon, whom he only spent less than two minutes on.

 

“Remind me again, why do we need to wear lipsticks and not the upper portions of our faces?”

 

“I had received instructions that you all will be wearing masks tonight so I need to accent your lower face more.” Heechul said as he applied makeup over his jawline. The purpose of the first night is not to get familiar with other guests, but to open the celebration with the president. After you settle into your rooms, there is only a dinner tonight before you will be ushered to your own private areas. They provide all the clothing and living supplies that you need.”

 

“We are separated?”

 

“Yes, the Resort have four different areas that you could stay in. You four,” Heechul pointed at Leeteuk, Siwon, Sungmin, and Kyuhyun. “are going to be staying at the Horizon, which sits at the foot of the mountain. It gives a view of the entire Seoul skyline.”

 

“Hyukjae and Donghae, you two are going to be staying at the Zenith, at the top of the mountain. It’s a short walk from the N Seoul Tower.”

 

“No fair! Why do they get to stay at the Zenith and not us?” Sungmin complained.

 

“I didn’t arrange this.” Heechul threw his hands up in the air. “But I can assure you that you get to share a queen-sized bed with Kyuhyun. Leeteuk and Siwon will sleep in single rooms.”

 

Although none of the other noticed, Heechul winked at Donghae and Hyukjae. “Have fun, you two.” He whispered to them as he finalized on applying lipsticks to Hyukjae before he moved on to Donghae.

 

“Heechul, please.” Hyukjae mumbled, but his facial expression said otherwise. He was glad that him and Donghae could get some privacy from the others, especially Sungmin and Kyuhyun.

 

As Heechul finished putting makeup on Donghae (which somehow took the longest out of all six of them, and Hyukjae was suspicious of Heechul), the limo pulled up to the a huge black and gold gate. “We’re here. I won’t be accompanying you guys for the rest of the night, as I will assume you guys won’t ruin your clothes during the dinner.” Heechul announced as he pulled something out of his makeup bag. Hyukjae recognizes the object as a box full of masks that he saw people wear to cover their upper portions of their faces at parties. “Pick one.”

 

Hyukjae reached forward and grabbed a black one that had silver embroidery patterns that extended out on the right side like a wing. Donghae, on the other hand, was unsure of which one to pick. “Umm…Hyukjae? Can you pick one for me?”

 

Hyukjae looked at him. Donghae looked so uncertain and timid that Hyukjae wanted to hug the daylight out of him. “Sure. How about this one?” He pulled out a white one with a green feather.

 

“Nah, I don’t like green.”

 

“Blue with silver?

 

“Nope.”

 

“How about this one?” Hyukjae asked as he pulled out a black one that was identical to his own, but only with gold embroidery instead of silver, extended out on the left.

 

Donghae considered for a moment and smiled. “I like it.” He said as he took the mask.

 

“Ooh, couple masks.” Kyuhyun said as Sungmin smirked nearby. They were both wearing identical masks as well, but Kyuhyun’s was blue and Sungmin’s was pink.

 

“Shut up, Kyuhyun.” Hyukjae snapped as he opened the car door. One by one, the six guys left the limo and out on the red carpet that sat on the cobblestone pavement.

 

“Chins up, smiles on, boys!” Heechul called out as the limo pulled away.

 

Immediately, dozens of bright flashes appeared before his eyes. After adjusting to the brightness, Hyukjae realized that the entrance was crowded with reporters from multiple channels.

 

“I didn’t expect so many media coverages here.” He said as he blinked, trying to get rid of the afterimages.

 

“Well, since the President didn’t give them permission to enter the Resort, they would just gather here.” Leeteuk said as he brushed a few strands of his newly-dyed orange hair out of his mask. “Ready for some camera?”

 

Hyukjae turned toward Donghae, who was ducking behind Hyukjae, looking very nervous and shivering a little from the winter air. “Hae, it’s alright. You are wearing a mask, no one is going to know your true face.” He pulled him out and together they faced the cameras.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

As they left the media behind, Donghae followed Hyukjae toward the gate, where a security guard stood with a nurse wearing a white gown.

 

“ID and invitation?”

 

Hyukjae handed both of his and Donghae’s ID, as well as the invitation card. The guard took them and checked with the device that he held in his other hand. The device beeped momentarily after. “Approved, proceed forward.”

 

The nurse smiled as they approached her. “Welcome! Please hold out your wrist.” She said.

 

Donghae’s breathing stopped.

 

_Syringes._

 

“W-what is this?” Donghae stammered.

 

“This is a tracking device, we use nanotechnology since carrying around a normal tracker is inconvenient. It allows the staff to find guests if they are lost, as the Resort covers a huge area.” The nurse explained. “It also allows you to access parts of the area, like your rooms and lounges. Don’t worry, it’s not permanent as it will be degraded by your body and passed out of your systems by the end of the celebration.”

 

Donghae gulped and slowly raised his wrist. The shot was quick and painless, but Donghae was trembling.

 

_Calm down, Donghae. You can’t breakdown in a public place right now._

 

He felt something and turned around to see Hyukjae putting a hand on his shoulder. His eyes were full of concern and worry. “Are you okay?” Donghae knew what Hyukjae was thinking about.

 

“Y-yeah, it’s fine.” Donghae muttered as Hyukjae pulled away. His shoulder was still lingering with the warm feeling of Hyukjae’s touch.

 

Donghae watched as the nurse injected the tracker in Hyukjae. To his surprise, Hyukjae was biting his lips and shuddered a little when the needle entered him. “Hyuk? What’s wrong?” Donghae asked curiously as the nurse pulled out the syringe.

 

“I…um…” Hyukjae’s face was turning pink a little.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t like needles.”

 

Donghae stared at him in shock. “You don’t like _what_?”

 

“I hate needles, Donghae.” Hyukjae’s face was turning into a darker shade now from embarrassment.

 

“No way. You are a doctor and you hate _needles_?” Donghae said in disbelief. “First the takeout, now needles?”

 

“I’m fine with them unless they are poking into me.” Hyukjae turned away, trying not to look at Donghae as he was dying on the inside.

 

“Yeah, he really doesn’t like it.” Siwon said as he finished his shot. “We all made fun of him whenever we can at the hospital.”

 

“Sungmin and I snuck some syringes in his bag once. He screamed so loud in his office that the entire floor heard him.” Kyuhyun snickered and high-fived Sungmin, while Hyukjae just buried his face in his hands.

 

Donghae laughed. “You guys are mean, but…” He grabbed Hyukjae’s wrist to reveal his face and smirked. “I will tease you about it too.”

 

“What? Why?” Hyukjae whimpered and pouted. _So cute._

 

“That’s what you get for making fun of my height.”

 

“That was only once! And you splashed soju in my eyes too!” Hyukjae complained.

 

“You got me back by tickling me to death. I’m still going to make fun of you.”

 

“Hae, please?”

 

“No.”

 

“Please?”

 

They continued this as they walked inside and got on the cart that will take them to their rooms, while the other four just watched in amusement from behind.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hyuk, can you stop sulking?”

 

Hyukjae didn’t reply as he stomped his way across the fancy lobby. After the cart dropped off the other four at the Horizon, they continued their way up the slope to the Zenith. By then, Hyukjae had gave up on pleading and decided to ignore Donghae.

 

“Hyukjae I’m sorry.”

 

He still didn’t answer as he hit the button of the elevator. Suddenly, he felt Donghae’s arms wrapped him, which caused his breathing to hitch.

 

“Hyuk, I’m really sorry if I made you that upset.” Donghae said behind him. “Can you forgive me?”

 

“No.” He said as he stepped into the elevator, dragging Donghae along with him. He scanned his wrist on the scanner before turning around to give the other a glare, but he immediately stopped when he found the pair of golden-brown iris.

 

“Don’t give me those puppy eyes.” Hyukjae managed to say, but he knew what the silver-hair was going to do next that will make his determination crumble.

 

Donghae pouted, and Hyukjae noticed there were some tears building up behind those marvelous eyes. “Goddammit.” Hyukjae cursed before he was suddenly lurched sideways. He managed to balance himself but Donghae wasn’t so lucky. The shorter crashed into Hyukjae, burying his face into Hyukjae’s neck.

 

Hyukjae froze as he felt Donghae’s warm breath and soft lips against his skin. “Donghae…can you get off? You are ruining both of our makeup.” He asked nervously.

 

“Oh.” Donghae quickly stepped back. “There is a lipstick mark on your neck.”

 

“I can just wash that off. Your makeup isn’t smeared.” Hyukjae said as he saw Donghae taking out his phone to check himself.

 

“Oh whew, I thought it is ruined.” Donghae said before he furrowed his brows a little. “Why are we moving sideways?”

 

Instead of going up, the glass elevator was moving right down a track, revealing a series of houses that lined up in a curve. Bare trees covered in glistening ice and snow surround each house that they were all isolated and impossible to see between. Behind them, the N Seoul Tower stood against the cold February air.

 

The elevator stopped in front of one of the houses and the doors opened. Hyukjae shivered against the sudden rush of cold air.

 

“So…do you forgive me, Hyuk?” Donghae asked hopefully.

 

Hyukjae looked at him. Despite having already seen the outfit, it still took Hyukjae’s breath away at how gorgeous Donghae is. “I guess.” Hyukjae grumbled. “Just don’t harass me over it like Sungmin and Kyuhyun.”

 

Donghae practically bounced after him as they walked to the front door. Hyukjae scanned his wrist again on the doorknob, and a click followed that allowed him to open it.

 

The place looked much bigger on the inside. Comfy couches and bean bag seats laid across the living room with a TV that span the entire wall. A kitchen with a sleek finish, stocked with more food that Hyukjae had seen in his own kitchen (which wasn’t much in comparison, since it was empty most of the time).

 

“Do they expect 10 people to live here?” Hyukjae said.

 

“I don’t know, but I love it here.” Donghae replied as he took off his shoes and crashed down on a bean bag seat.

 

“More than my place?” Hyukjae asked while raising an eyebrow, still a bit miffed because of Donghae.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that, Hyuk.” Donghae said quickly before he got up.

 

Hyukjae smirked. “Come on, let’s check upstairs.”

 

There were only two rooms upstairs: a bedroom and a bathroom. The bathroom was double the size of Hyukjae’s own, with a huge walk-in shower, a bathtub that also serve as a jacuzzi, all complete with white marble tiles.

 

However, what captured their attention is the bedroom. Inside, a king-sized bed with fluffy pillows that faced the glass doors that led out to a balcony. Flower petals strewn across the floor and the bed, giving the room a pleasant scent. Everything in the room ranged from deep red to snow white, including the carpet and the walls. A door on the side led to a closet full of clothes that Hyukjae was sure that they won’t be able to have a chance to wear even ten percent of them during their stay.

 

“Heechul definitely did this on purpose.” Hyukjae said, looking at the flower petals on the only bed in the room.

 

“Hopefully Sungmin and Kyuhyun won’t find out about this.” Donghae said as he walked over to the glass door. Hyukjae heard him gasped.

 

“What is it?” Hyukjae asked as Donghae opened the doors and stepped outside.

 

“Hyuk, come here.”

 

He walked outside and stopped. Before them, a massive field of flowers bloomed under the golden sunset, which was the same as the petals that were scattered across the bedroom. A few trees dotted here and there in the field, but they were covered in light-pink flowers. The sweetness in the crisp, chilly air was much stronger than the petals in the bedroom. Based on observation, Hyukjae guessed that the houses were curved around the field, but the trees in between allowed each house to have full view of the field, without another house in it.

 

“It’s beautiful.” Donghae marveled.

 

“Camellia.”

 

“Sorry?”

 

“Those flowers.” Hyukjae gestured to the field. “The ones on trees are plum blossoms. Those are two of the few plants that bloom in winter. I remember these because Sora likes gardening. Speaking of which,” He pulled out his phone to take a picture. “I’m going to make her jealous.”

 

“You’re so mean, Hyukjae.” Donghae giggled. After Hyukjae took a picture, he suddenly moved in front of the camera. “Take a picture of me.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled and complied. He took several pictures and picked one to be sent to Sora.

 

“Did you just send a picture of me to Sora?” Donghae asked incredulously.

 

“Don’t worry, I sent the one that doesn’t have you in it.” Hyukjae patted his back. “Want to go now? It will be dinner time once we get to the dining hall. We already spent so much time from just getting up here in to our room.”

 

“Sure, let’s go then.” Donghae said while grabbing Hyukjae’s hand, making Hyukjae’s heart flutter. He dragged Hyukjae down the stairs and out the door while Hyukjae took out his phone.

 

“What are you doing?” Donghae asked curiously as they waited for the elevator to come.

 

“Nothing.” Hyukjae said with a small blush. Hiding from Donghae’s view, he set a picture of Donghae that he took at the balcony as his phone background, then followed the silver-hair into the elevator.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“This is so good.” Donghae mumbled through a mouthful of taco.

 

They were sitting in the dining hall, which is a short ride from the Zenith on the other side of the mountain, facing away from the Seoul skyline. Sungmin, Kyuhyun, Leeteuk, and Siwon had joined them after settling their respective rooms (although Sungmin’s and Kyuhyun’s hair were suspiciously messy, their makeup was a little smudged).

 

“As I said before, Hae, swallow before you talk.” Hyukjae said as he sipped his wine after he ate the last little bit of icing from his plate of strawberry cake. “Also, this is your third plate of tacos already.” He leaned over to flick a piece of tomato off Donghae’s gold-and-black mask.

 

“I don’t care, I like tacos.” Donghae stuck out his tongue before he took another huge bite.

 

Leeteuk smiled beside Hyukjae. “I can see why you like him so much.”

 

Hyukjae blushed a little. “Shut up, Leeteuk.”

 

Just then, the room darkened as a grey-hair man stood up to the podium at the front of the hall. Unlike everyone else, he was not wearing a mask, which exposed his old, leathery face. The room silenced as he tapped the mic.

 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” said the President. “It’s a moment of great privilege and honour for me to extend a hearty welcome to all of you today at this memorable event. As you are all aware that we have gathered here to celebrate the Lunar New Year and the seventh year of my presidency of the Republic of Korea. It will be a moment of history to view the blood moon with many powerful figures here in this room. I am certain that you will all enjoy the next two days here at the Resort with the staff’s utmost care. Please refer to your programmes to see what activities we will have and enjoy the experience. Thank you.”

 

With a thunderous applause, the President bowed and left the podium.

 

“The President seemed nice.” Donghae noted.

 

“He did many great things for the country.” Siwon replied. “He opened many jobs for the unemployed and donated to the poor, along with many other humanitarian activities. The President also is a great businessman, as Korea’s economy skyrocketed during his presidency. He is well loved by the citizen.”

 

 _Too bad that I missed out on all of that._ Donghae thought with slight bitterness.

 

“Donghae?” Hyukjae asked. “Do you want to go now?”

 

“Go where?”

 

“Dancing, it is the next thing in the program.” Hyukjae said. Donghae noticed that many people were getting up and started to walk into the room next door. “Do you know how to dance?”

 

“A little, but I’m rusty now after not being able to move my legs around much for years.”

 

Hyukjae just smiled warmly and took his hands. “Want to dance with me? I could show you some moves and maybe you will be able to remember.”

 

Donghae nodded and smiled as Hyukjae pulled him into the next room. The dance hall was just as big as the dining hall, but with a huge chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. Rows of steps rose up to the stage where the DJ was blasting some pop songs.

 

Donghae marveled at how Hyukjae moved his body to the music. He could just study the fluid motion and the sharp cuts all night if there weren’t strangers constantly bumping into them. He tried to copy those moves and slowly recalled his dancing days back then. After a couple of songs, he was jamming to the music with Hyukjae, although Donghae still admitted that Hyukjae was a better dancer.

 

“What were you talking about before? You are pretty good at dancing.” Hyukjae asked as Donghae popped his chest.

 

“Not as good as you. When do you have the time to dance?”

 

“I used to go to a dance studio a lot during my university years. What about you?”

 

“My brother taught me some moves, the rest are from clubs.” Donghae smirked.

 

Hyukjae looked at him with amusement. “You don’t seem like a guy who goes to clubs.”

 

“Thanks, I get that a lot.” Donghae jokingly replied. Together, they danced until Donghae’s knees started to hurt after an hour. Although he was much stronger than his time at the facility, his body still worn out quickly.

 

“Hyuk, I’m tired.” Donghae said as the song played its last guitar rift.

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Okay, let’s go back to our place then.”

 

They were about to leave when the DJ suddenly spoke through the speaker.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest tonight.” The DJ announced. “He is here to perform his new single ‘Singularity’. Please welcome V!”

 

A man came up to the stage while a microphone stand rose up at the middle. He was wearing black velvet jacket with silver flower designs and white silk dress shirt underneath. He had a single pendant earing on his left ear that says “LOVED”.

 

“Oh my god!” Donghae squealed. “Hyuk, can we stay for one more song?”

 

“Why?” Hyukjae asked curiously. “You said you were tired a minute ago.”

 

“I know, but I am a huge fan of him.” Donghae started listening to V’s music during his university years. The singer just debuted and his popularity was no joke, especially among girls because of his deep voice. The singer had never revealed his face to the public before, and Donghae could guess that he still didn’t after five years since the singer stepped up to the stage with a white mask that fully covered his face. There was single line of black paint down the left side of his face, resembling a line of tear. “Hyuk, please?”

 

“Well if you can take it, sure. I’m not tired yet so it’s up to you.” Hyukjae said before Donghae made a happy noise before dragging him back into the crowd.

 

“V makes a lot of slow songs, so dancing shouldn’t be a problem.” Donghae said. Sure enough, when V started to sing, the room was filled with the chill R&B vibe and his husky, deep voice.

 

_“I hear something shattering. It suddenly wakes me up…”_

 

Donghae placed his hands on Hyukjae. In response, Hyukjae placed his on Donghae’s hips as they swayed back and forth over the slow percussion and low bass. Together, they slowly swung back and forth, drowned themselves in V’s voice.

 

_“Did I lose myself? Or did I gain you...”_

 

Donghae stared at those pair of chocolate eyes sparkling behind the silver-and-black mask. He thought about his time with Hyukjae and the sweet and tender time he had with him. “Hyukjae?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It’s been a week since I first met you.” He really can’t believe that it has been a week since the incident, and how much closer they got together.

 

“Oh, really? Wow, time flies…”

 

“I just want to say thank you.”

 

Hyukjae looked surprised. “For what?”

 

“For making me smile and feel happy. For making me feel comforted and warm. For making me feel not lonely and…loved.” Donghae managed to get out the last word without stammering.

 

Hyukjae looked stunned. “Donghae…”

 

Donghae let go of his hands on Hyukjae’s arms and wrapped them around his sides instead, closing their distance that he rested his head into the black-hair’s chest. “Thank you so much.” He whispered.

 

Hyukjae’s arms were still outstretched as he stood frozen. Then gently, he circled them around Donghae’s waist. “Whatever makes my patient happy.”

 

Hugging each other for a while, Hyukjae slowly pulled away so that he could look at Donghae’s face. Despite both of them wearing their masks, Donghae could see Hyukjae was blushing, and he was sure that he was blushing as well.

 

“Donghae?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I…”

 

“What?”

 

“I…I lo-”

 

All of the sudden, the crowd erupted into a roaring applause as V sang his last note, shattering the intimate moment. Donghae let go of Hyukjae and clapped as well. After the applause was over, he turned to Hyukjae, who was pouting a little. “Sorry about that. Can you continue what you were saying as we head back?”

 

“Oh, um, yeah. Sure.” Hyukjae stammered as he followed Donghae out the door.

 

Donghae turned around to look at his favorite singer one more time. The man was bowing to the crowd and raised his left hand to wave goodbye for the night. The fabric slid down his arm a little.

 

Donghae was curious to see a new tattoo of a black phoenix, wondering what it meant to V since he was sure that he had never seen the singer with a tattoo before.

 

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

As they walked out of the dance hall, Hyukjae noticed that Donghae was smiling.

 

“What?” Hyukjae asked him.

 

“Hmm?” Donghae said in a trance. “Oh. Nothing. Just thinking about some stuff. By the way, what were you going to say earlier.”

 

“Well, um…” Hyukjae’s cheeks flushed. “I’m not sure if this is the right place to say it, but-”

 

His words got cut off when he bumped into someone. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Hyukjae immediately apologized the stranger.

 

“Oh, it’s alright.” The other man said as he turned around from conversing with another stranger. His voice was rough like a dull blade. “Are you enjoying the celebration so far?”

 

“Yes we are, sir…” Hyukjae trailed off. _Why does this man seem so familiar?_

 

“I am enjoying here as well. Now if you excuse me, I got to make a phone call. Have a great night gentleman.” The man said as he left with the other.

 

“Alright, let’s go?” Hyukjae said as he turned to face Donghae. “Well, I was going to say- are you okay?”

 

Donghae was standing there, frozen like a statue. Behind the mask, his eyes were full of fear and hatred, and Hyukjae could tell that colors were swirling behind the color contacts. His breathing was short and irregular.

 

“Donghae? What’s wrong?” Hyukjae asked gently as Donghae started to shake. “Hae?”

 

Donghae didn’t answer but he buried himself in Hyukjae. Hyukjae could feel the sob rising out of him. “Shh, don’t cry, Hae. Let’s go to our room, okay? Please don’t cry.” He whispered as he slowly dragged Donghae outside and walked back to the Zenith.

 

Donghae didn’t talk at all until they were back in their house. He plopped down on one of the couches and tossed away his mask before started bawling his eyes out.

 

Hyukjae was quick to sit down beside him and wrapped his arms around the shuddering body. He took off his own mask before gently placed Donghae’s head in his shoulder while patting his back to soothe him. “Hae, can you tell me what’s wrong? Why are you crying so much? Is it something about the man that I bumped into?”

 

“H-Him.” Donghae sniffled, his makeup was completely ruined from the tears streaming down his face.

 

“Who?”

 

“That man-n.” Donghae was shaking so much that the coffee table beside them was trembling from his telekinesis.

 

“Have you met him before?” Hyukjae pulled back a little to look at the puffy red eyes.

 

“H-h-he’s t-the…” Donghae whimpered. “T-the director, Hyuk.”

 

Hyukjae’s jaws dropped. “What?!”

 

“He’s the director of the facility.” Donghae said before he plunged back into Hyukjae’s shoulder and cried.

 

“Holy shit…” Hyukjae cursed. “I’m so sorry Donghae.” He bit his tongue and scold himself for not thinking about the possibility of the director being there.

 

“Let’s get you cleaned up before we go to bed, okay?”

 

Donghae nodded silently and allowed himself to be carried to the bathroom upstairs. Hyukjae gently set Donghae down on the counter to let Donghae have some privacy, but Donghae refused to let go. “Stay.” Donghae whispered.

 

Hyukjae looked at him for a moment. “Do you want me to bathe you?” He asked with a neutral voice. He knew he shouldn’t get so flushed in this situation.

 

Donghae nodded slowly.

 

“Okay.” Hyukjae took a deep breath before he unbuttoned Donghae’s grey suit, followed by his dress shirt. He carefully removed the contact in Donghae’s eye and put it in the container that he brought with him, which revealed the sad blue iris behind the golden brown. Hyukjae was impressed that most of the scars had faded to pale scratches, and the bones underneath the skin were not as noticeable as before. He took off his own black suit and rolled up his sleeves, walking away from Donghae to turn on the water in the bathtub, setting the temperature so that it was lukewarm. Hyukjae came back to Donghae and slowly undressed his lower body, while averting his eyes. Once he was done, he lifted the smaller body and slowly set him down in the water.

 

Hyukjae gently massaged Donghae’s hair with shampoo while muttering soothing words to calm him. “It’s alright, Hae. I’m here, I won’t let anything happen to you.” But Donghae didn’t respond, keeping his head down while tears continue to flow from eyes.

 

He was quick to wash Donghae’s body, but he made sure that he cleaned every inch. After he drained the water away, Hyukjae grabbed a towel nearby and patted Donghae dry. He wrapped the towel around him to keep him warm. “Can you brush your teeth by yourself? I’ll get you some clothes.”

 

Hyukjae walked out of the bathroom and opened the closet. He picked out a boxer and pajama pants that were about Donghae’s size before he went to the bed to brush off the camellia petals that still scattered everywhere in the room.

 

He heard footsteps and found Donghae shuffled into the bedroom. “Here are your clothes. I will go wash up now, okay?”

 

After a quick shower and brushed his teeth, he returned to the bedroom to find Donghae lying there on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

 

Hyukjae sighed and crawled up to bed beside Donghae. Without a word, Donghae turned and hugged Hyukjae tightly.

 

“Donghae, please don’t cry.” Hyukjae whispered into Donghae’s silver hair. “It’s alright. I’m here Donghae. I’m here for you.”

 

“But…what if he recognizes me in the next two days? We won’t be wearing masks.” Donghae shivered in fear.”

 

“I won’t let him get to you. Just point him out to me next time and we will avoid him. Do you know his face?

 

“Once, he thought I was sleeping when he was inspecting the cells.”

 

“Okay. I will make sure that he won’t have the chance to talk to you.” Hyukjae said while rubbing small circles on Donghae’s back and pecked him on the forehead, which made Donghae smiled a little.

 

“Thanks, Hyukkie.” Donghae said with a small voice before he buried his head in Hyukjae’s chest, shuffled closer to the black-hair’s body.

 

Hyukjae’s heart jumped when he heard the new nickname. He smiled to himself before he looked outside. He could see the blood moon rising out from the flower field, painting everything into a warm orange shade.

 

He wanted to tell Donghae to get up and show him the view, but he stopped once he heard the soft snores in his chest. Hyukjae chuckled and rested his face in the fluffy hair, breathing in the sweet apple wood fragrance.

 

 _I love you, Lee Donghae. I will never leave you._ He thought to himself before he closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, here comes trouble.
> 
> More BTS members will be introduced later on (Yes, Taehyung will appear again in future chapters.)
> 
> Sorry for the delay, my internet is really crap today.
> 
> Next Chapter: Deluge of Flowers
> 
> May 26 2 PM EST
> 
> I also opened a twitter account recently (to stalk group promo and stuff)! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! :)
> 
> Small update: accidentally wrote my twitter handle wrong, it's now corrected.


	7. Chapter 6: Deluge of Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “No ending, you are my heartbeat…you are my hope.”

_Lunar Celebration, Day 2 (Saturday, Lunar New Year Eve)_

 

_“Donghae, come on!”_

_“You’re too fast, Hyukjae.” Donghae complained as he chased the other in an endless field of camellia flowers under the clear blue sky. The flowers were in full bloom despite the fact that the air was warm as spring._

_Suddenly, Donghae tripped and fell on the bed of flowers. It didn’t hurt, and he was giggling._

_“Donghae, are you okay?” Hyukjae’s voice became louder as he ran closer._

_“Yeah, I’m okay.” Donghae said as Hyukjae laid down beside him, enjoying the warm sunny day._

_After a few moments, Hyukjae rolled his body and got up on all fours so that Donghae was beneath him. “I love you, Donghae.”_

_Donghae breathed in the sweet mixture of Hyukjae’s scent and camellia. “I love you too.”_

_Hyukjae flashed his gummy smile and slowly leaned down to kiss him._

_“Wait.”_

_“What is it, Hae?”_

_“You are not Hyukjae.”_

_Hyukjae stopped and pushed himself back up, the smile still on his face. However, as Donghae watched, the gummy smiled transformed from warmth to sinister._

_“What if I’m not?”_

_Hyukjae slowly stood up. His face wrinkled and paled while his eyes turned green like a reptile. His hair withered to a shade of sickly grey. Donghae watched in horror as Hyukjae transformed into the director._

_“Nice to meet you again, Donghae.” His voice was rough like a rusty knife. The flowers around them burned away, revealing the white marble floor, then the white walls, and finally the dark screen._

_Donghae was back in the testing room._

_“You thought that you could escape me?”_

_Chains flew out of nowhere and clamped around Donghae’s limbs and neck, pulling him up into the air._

_“No…” Donghae whimpered._

_“Commence experiment.” Donghae watched helplessly as robotic arms with syringes approached him._

_“NO!”_

 

“Donghae!”

 

“NO! Please stop!”

 

“Donghae! It’s okay. It’s just a nightmare. It’s me, Hyukjae.”

 

Donghae opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the bed at the Zenith, covered in cold sweat. The sun was already up in the sky. Hyukjae was beside him, the chocolate eyes were full of worry and concern.

 

“H-Hyukjae?”

 

“Yeah, that’s my name. Are you okay?”

 

Donghae quickly buried himself in Hyukjae’s chest and started crying.

 

“Shh…you had a bad dream, right? About him?”

 

Donghae nodded. He felt Hyukjae’s arms circled around him. “It’s alright, calm down. You’re with me okay? We talked about this last night. I won’t let him hurt you.”

 

Donghae calmed down a little but was still sniffling. “You are the only person who cared about me now. Don’t leave me.”

 

“I won’t, Donghae.” Hyukjae muttered, patting his back.

 

Donghae didn’t answer. He realized something that he never thought of before.

 

_I dragged him into my world when he could just live on peacefully by himself._

_But I can’t stop wanting him._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“At least you got better this time.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You didn’t break anything this time.” Hyukjae said. He had seen the stormy grey hue in Donghae’s left eye when he woke up and anticipated for something in the room to shatter, but nothing happened. “You are getting better at controlling yourself.”

 

“I…I guess.” Donghae mumbled while holding onto Hyukjae tightly.

 

They stayed like that for a while before Hyukjae broke the silence.

 

“Donghae could you, um, move your head a little? Your head is on my neck and I can’t breathe properly.”

 

The smaller body jolted as he realized that he was lying on top of Hyukjae, with his legs around Hyukjae’s waist. His cheeks were burning red when he tried to roll to the side. “Sorry-”

 

Before he could finish, Hyukjae wrapped his arms around him and prevented Donghae to get off. “I said move your head, not your entire body.” Hyukjae smirked. “I kind of like this position.”

 

Hyukjae could see that the silver-hair’s cheeks were turning into an even darker shade of red of rhubarb. “Okay.” Donghae said shyly before he rested his head on his chest, listening to the healthy strong heartbeat.

 

Hyukjae smiled. He loved how Donghae was being so cuddly despite he cried so much. His honey-brown eyes were still puffy but they were glimmering with happiness.

 

_If only I could confess…_

 

“What time is it? Do we have to go to any activities right now?” Donghae looked up at the smiling man.

 

“Uhh…” Hyukjae looked around for his phone. He opened it to see his new wallpaper of Donghae and chuckled to himself. “It’s just a bit after 10. I checked to program last night and we don’t have anything until later in the afternoon.”

 

“Really? I’m going back to sleep then.” Donghae plopped his head back down on Hyukjae’s chest and closed his eyes.

 

“Nuh uh, we are getting up.” Hyukjae said as he sat up, shifting Donghae along with him so that he was sitting on his lap. Donghae whined in complaint and buried his face deeper in Hyukjae’s chest. “Come on, Hae, don’t act like a baby. We are going to be late for breakfast, I don’t want to get it mixed up with lunch.” He was forcing himself to say that because it felt so good and comfy to have Donghae nuzzling into him like this.

 

Donghae suddenly stopped with his whining. “I don’t want to go out…”

 

Hyukjae detected the nervousness and fear in his voice. “We could have breakfast here in our place, there are plenty of stuff to eat in the kitchen. I’m sure we can order food as well.” He said while comforting Donghae by rubbing his back. “But we go out for lunch, okay? We will come back if we see him. You can’t stay indoor for the entire day because the staffs will question where you are.” Hyukjae reminded himself that the organization was keeping in check on the attendance for some reason.

 

“Okay…”

 

“Good boy.” Hyukjae said as Donghae got off him to go to the bathroom. Then he frowned as he looked down and saw the pent-up pajama pants.

 

_Did I just get hard for him sitting on my lap?_

 

Hyukjae shook his head to get rid of the thought as he rummaged through the closet to find something to wear. He pulled out some sweatpants and a hoodie before a still-half-naked Donghae came back. For some reason Hyukjae just can’t bring himself to stare at the pale body.

 

“Hyukkie, is there something wrong?” Donghae tilted his head curiously.

 

“Nothing. I’m going to clean myself up now, so go downstairs and help yourself with some breakfast.” Hyukjae said hastily and ran into the bathroom before Donghae could see his reddened face.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae munched loudly as he slowly made his way through a bag of chips. After breakfast (he ate so much Hyukjae complained that half of the food in the kitchen were gone), both of them crashed in the living room to watch TV. Most of the channels were talking about the Lunar Celebration.

 

“Man, this place is attracting a lot of attention.” Donghae said as he sucked on his finger.

 

“Well, a lot of important figures are here, so it’s not a surprise. I’m glad that the media doesn’t have to permission to enter, or else it will be a mess.” Hyukjae said while sipping on his strawberry milk. “Want to have lunch?”

 

“Yep, let me just change.” Donghae threw the empty bag of chips aside and went upstairs. He came back down quickly after choosing a pair of jeans and a white sweater. He shivered a little when he opened the door outside and waited for the elevator to come.

 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around him, instantly warming his body up. Donghae turned around and saw Hyukjae giving his gummy smile at him, his cheeks were a little pink against the cold air. “Thanks. Aren’t you cold as well?”

 

“Well, a little…” Before Hyukjae could say anything else, Donghae was already hugging him back, feeling the tight muscles that shuddered against the freezing February air.

 

 _Oh, what did I do to meet you, Hyukjae._ Donghae thought while breathing in the sweet scent of cologne.

 

The elevator came (thankfully the air was heated inside) and they pressed the button to go to the lobby. Hyukjae took his hands and guided him to the dining area.

 

Donghae’s eyes widened at the sight of the buffet. Rows after rows of food lined in wait, accompanied by a bar and a huge drink stand. People walked back and forth, conversed with each other and had the time of their life. “Wow.”

 

“Don’t go running off and take half of the food, Hae.”

 

Donghae rolled his eyes. “I won’t run off.” He said before grabbing Hyukjae’s wrist. “But I will drag you with me and take half of the food, Hyuk.”

 

Hyukjae snorted as they grabbed their trays. Donghae somehow managed to fill his tray entirely by the time they left the first two rows (mostly because there were tacos).

 

“Why don’t you find us seats? I still need to fill mine up.” Hyukjae said before he saw Donghae’s worried look. “It’s fine, Hae. You don’t see him anywhere right?”

 

Donghae looked around. “No…I guess I will find seats then.”

 

Hyukjae smiled and ruffled his hair before he left to the dessert row filled with strawberry delicacies.

 

Donghae looked around. It was around noon and the place was packed with people. He couldn’t see a table that had at least two spots left.

 

Except one.

 

A man sat alone at the table beside the window. Donghae guessed that he was younger than him and Hyukjae based on his looks. He was nibbling on a piece of fries while staring at the view of winter wonderland.

 

“Hi, can I sit here with my friend?” Donghae asked politely.

 

The young man turned to look at him. His playful dark eyes gleamed under the sunlight. He flashed a box smile and spoke in a surprisingly low voice. “Sure.”

 

 _Wow, he is very handsome._ Donghae thought as he sat across from the guy.

 

_Wait. He looks…_

 

“What’s your name?” Donghae asked bluntly.

 

The stranger looked startled. “Is that how you start a conversation?”

 

“Sorry…It’s just that you look familiar.”

 

The man just laughed. “It’s fine. My name is Kim Taehyung. Nice to meet you.”

 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lee Donghae.”

 

“Donghae? That’s a nice name.” Taehyung said while sipping on his coke. He was subconsciously hummed some songs when Donghae gasped.

 

“You are V!”

 

Taehyung choked on his drink. “What?”

 

“You are the singer! Oh my god! I am a fan of you!” Donghae squealed. He knew Taehyung’s eyes looked familiar. When he started humming, he sounded exactly like V.

 

Taehyung suddenly leaped up and covered Donghae’s mouth with his hand. “Don’t say it out loud!” He hissed.

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

Both of them turned as found Hyukjae standing there, his tray was full of strawberry dessert. Donghae noticed his eyes narrowed slightly.

 

_Is he jealous?_

 

Taehyung quickly let go. “Sorry…You heard us?” He asked Hyukjae.

 

Hyukjae nodded as he sat down beside Donghae. He took a pastry and stuffed it in his mouth.

 

Taehyung sighed. “Fine, I guess I can’t keep it a secret from you guys anymore. Yes, I am V.” He looked at Donghae. “Please don’t tell anyone else, I don’t want people to know my real face. Oh, and call me Taehyung when I don’t have my mask on in public.”

 

“Why? You got such a handsome face, I don’t know why you wear masks all the time.” Donghae said as he stuffed his mouth with taco. He felt Hyukjae suddenly tense beside him. “Oh shoot, I forgot to introduce you guys. Taehyung, this is Lee Hyukjae…Something wrong, Hyukjae?”

 

“Nothing.” Hyukjae mumbled as he chewed on his food, but his eyes were telling something opposite.

 

“Are you two dating?” Taehyung asked, causing both Hyukjae and Donghae to choke on their food.

 

“N-n-no. What makes you think of that?” Donghae stuttered.

 

“Oh…It’s just that I feel like I’m interrupting something.” Taehyung looked meaningfully at them. “You guys should date though.”

 

“Why?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“I don’t know, I just feel like you two matches. Both of you need something, and you can find it from each other.” Taehyung smiled innocently.

 

Donghae smiled back. Taehyung seemed like a nice guy to hang out with. “When did you get a new tattoo?”

 

“What? The black phoenix?” Taehyung asked. Hyukjae froze beside Donghae.

 

“Yeah, I never noticed you had one on your wrist before. Well, it’s been five years since I saw your performance actually.”

 

Taehyung was silent for a moment. “Five years? Well, a lot could change in five years.”

 

“True.”

 

“The one on my wrist was not permanent.” Taehyung said as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a rash instead of the tattoo. “I only had it for my performance last night, and I got rid of it when I went back to my room.”

 

“Why not permanent? It looks good.” Donghae asked.

 

“Well, I feel like it could send a message last night.” Taehyung winked. “I know someone in the crowd that may be interested because it is special to them. I have a special relationship to them.”

 

“That must be nice, to have someone special.” Donghae muttered.

 

Taehyung gave him a cryptic smile before he got up to throw out the trash. “I think you do have someone special, Donghae. It was nice talking to you, see you around!”

 

“Bye!” He waved, with his mind was lingering on Taehyung’s words.

 

Hyukjae, meanwhile, was just munching on his strawberry.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hello?” I said after I picked up my phone.

 

“It’s me.” A rough voice answered. The director.

 

“Something wrong?”

 

“Yes, _he’s_ here.”

 

“Define _he_ , I know more than one male human in this world. Not including you.”

 

“Mask.”

 

“ _What?_ How did he get in here?”

 

“He is popular-“

 

“That’s not what I meant!”

 

“I don’t know, Sir.”

 

“Fine.” I snapped. “Don’t bother much with him, he doesn’t know everything. Just continue with the plan. However, if you do see him, capture him. Alive or dead.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

I shut my phone and stared outside. Being not offered to stay at the Zenith was already insulting enough. Now _that guy_ is here…

 

I closed my eyes and focused.

 

_Whatever, even he can’t stop what I will do here._

_I will enjoy my own firework._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“How do you do this?” Hyukjae wondered as Donghae taped some pieces of paper together.

 

“C’mon, Hyukjae, I can’t help you with every step.” Donghae just rolled his eyes.

 

“Here, let me help.” Taehyung said as he pulled out some tape.

 

For the activity as of that moment, they were in a meeting room in the hotel with several other people making paper lanterns. It was a tradition that the President followed to send lanterns up into the sky on Lunar New Year Eve, each represents a wish that will come true in the new year. Donghae found making lanterns was fairly easy, while Hyukjae struggled with all the papers and wires. Taehyung had joined them because he didn’t know anyone else.

 

“Are you planning on making ten, Donghae?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“I’m just making a lot and pick only one that looks the best.” Donghae replied. “I only have one wish. I think that making multiple wishes makes each one not special and unique anymore.”

 

Hyukjae pondered over his words. “I guess. What about you, Taehyung?”

 

“I’m think of three.” He said. “The two others are for some other people, they couldn’t make it here to the workshop.”

 

_Did he look sad for just a moment?_

 

“Ah, I see.” Hyukjae was still a bit jealous of Taehyung talking to Donghae in such a friendly matter, even Taehyung had clarified that he was not hitting on him. Despite that, he was actually a bit curious about the mysterious singer.

 

_And the tattoo…_

 

“I need to go to the washroom, be right back okay?” Donghae said as he stood up.

 

“Do you want me to come with you?”

 

“The washroom is just across the hallway, Hyuk. I will be fine.” Donghae rolled his eyes before he left.

 

Afterwards, Hyukjae just sat in awkward silence with Taehyung, who was still helping him taping the papers together with the wire.

 

“Hyukjae, can you pass me the wooden frame?” Taehyung asked.

 

“Oh, uh, sure.” Hyukjae said as he grabbed the wood beside him.

 

_Should I ask?_

 

“Why did you get that tattoo?” Hyukjae whispered so that no one else could eavesdrop them.

 

Taehyung paused. Hyukjae had counted exactly twenty-three seconds before he whispered back.

 

“Infiltration.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

(Donghwa POV)

 

Donghwa sat at his desk in the hospital, looking at his computer. He had finally got through all the meetings that he was supposed to attend that day, but his mind didn’t pay attention to any of them at all.

 

He was worried about Hyukjae and Donghae.

 

Apparently, the organization had transported multiple shipping containers to the Resort a few days before the Lunar Celebration. In fact, there were many other suspicious objects that were transported as Donghwa skimmed through the list that he got just a few hours ago from a subordinate.

 

_Guns…Transmitter…Explosives…Fluid…Bulletproof vest…_

 

_Something big is going to happen._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Infiltration?”

 

“You are asking me this because you knew about the organization, right? I noticed that you froze when Donghae and I were talking about my tattoo.”

 

Hyukjae nodded.

 

“How did you know?” Taehyung asked.

 

“I can’t say.” Hyukjae replied.

 

Taehyung tilted his head, his usual playful dark orbs turned piercing, boring into Hyukjae’s own eyes. “It’s something about Donghae, isn’t it?”

 

Hyukjae’s eyes widened. “How-“

 

“I’m good at reading people, like how I was able to figure out there was something between you and Donghae during lunch time.”

 

Hyukjae’s grip tightened on his half-made lantern. “Don’t you dare do something with him.”

 

“I won’t do anything to him, because I’m not part of that group of evil bastards.”

 

Hyukjae was surprised by Taehyung’s sudden change of words, his dark eyes were full of fury and hatred. “In fact, I don’t really want to know why you and Donghae are involved with them. For the sake of your safety, I want to warn you about something.”

 

Hyukjae gulped, Taehyung looked very scary in that demeanor. “Do not go to any evening activities anymore. From the information I gathered, the organization is plotting something that will happen in one of the evenings here at the Resort.”

 

“But the system-“

 

“Oh, you also know about the attendance system?” Taehyung looked a little surprised. “I know from the program that there is a total of seven activities for both nights. However, after my performance last night, I snuck into the security room, which wouldn’t be possible with the tattoo.”

 

 _The organization already had control over the entire event._ Hyukjae realized when Taehyung said the last sentence.

 

“I had infected the system with a virus. I can’t tell you the main goal of my action, but I can assure you that the alarm system is now glitched. I altered it so that we are allowed to miss up to ten activities.”

 

“And why are you here? You could have skipped this workshop too.” Hyukjae questioned.

 

“I came because there was something about you and Donghae that is quite interesting. I wasn’t wrong, right?”

 

“Right…And do you know who Donghwa is?”

 

“Donghwa? No, never heard of him.” Taehyung frowned. “Why?”

 

“Well-“

 

“Hey, I’m back.” Donghae chirped as he plopped down on his chair. “Oh, you made progress, Hyukjae.”

 

“Mostly done by me, he still doesn’t get it.” Taehyung smirked, his previously scary demeanor had vaporized.

 

“Yah, excuse me?” Hyukjae retorted. “You are younger than me, how dare you to talk with disrespect.”

 

“I never told you my age.”

 

“You are saying that you are older?”

 

“No, I’m 22.”

 

“You are five years younger than me!”

 

“Aish, can you two stop bickering? I want to finish my lantern!”

 

“Sorry, Hae.”

 

“Sorry, Hae.”

 

“You don’t get to call him that!”

 

“Oh my god...”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Why can’t you two just get along?” Donghae asked with slight annoyance.

 

Hyukjae didn’t respond as they sat in their living room, eating dinner. They ordered room service and the piping-hot food came immediately through the dispenser. Hyukjae mentioned that he already told the staffs that Donghae wasn’t feeling well and he needs to take care of him, so both of them would spent the night in their place instead.

 

“Well…”

 

“Jealous?” Donghae teased.

 

“What? No!” Hyukjae said, eating his steak. “It’s just that…I still don’t think I could trust him fully.”

 

“It’s fine, Hyukjae. You are getting too worked up trying to protect me” Donghae sighed as he gobbled up the last bite of taco. “Relax a bit, okay? It’s just Taehyung, not like he is working with the director or anything. He is my favorite singer too.”

 

“Okay…”

 

A sudden thump made Donghae jump. He glanced around quickly to find the dispenser opened up, revealing two hanboks and two paper lanterns.

 

“Aren’t those…”

 

“The ones we made in the afternoon, yes.” Hyukjae answered as he grabbed the items. “I kind of want to keep the tradition, so I asked Heechul to send the clothes here. We can release those lanterns from our balcony. That’s okay with you right?”

 

Donghae nodded.

 

After they cleaned up, they sat beside each other in the living room watching TV, waiting for the time to inch closer to midnight for the lantern spectacle. Donghae could still feel Hyukjae’s worried eyes on him.

 

He sighed as he put his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Hyukkie, I meant what I said.” He said gently.

 

Hyukjae didn’t say anything before he turned and embraced Donghae, closing the distance between them. “I’m scared that you will get hurt.”

 

Donghae was touched by those words, but his mind went back to the thoughts he had that morning. “I know, but I can defend myself somewhat right?”

 

Hyukjae was still silent, but Donghae could feel the other trembling a little.

 

“Want to try on the hanbok now? It’s almost time.” Donghae said, trying to distract the other from thinking of his safety.

 

He stepped into the bathroom to change. Donghae’s hanbok was a beautiful shade of sky blue that pairs with his silver hair fairly well. The silk fabric was so smooth and light that he could barely feel it. He also decided to get rid of the contacts because no one else except Hyukjae would be seeing him. Donghae tried to manage his hair by running it through wet fingers using water, so it didn’t look completely like a mess.

 

When he was done, he went to the bedroom to check on Hyukjae. It turned out that the raven-black hair man was already done. Hyukjae’s was a brilliant shade of silver and he kept his hair messy, which rather made him look even more handsome. “You look good.” Hyukjae said.

 

“Thanks, you too.” Donghae replied. “Want to head out?”

 

They stepped outside onto the balcony (Donghae was glad that the heating was on) and admire the view of the pink flowers under the red moon. The place was very quiet as all the other houses were vacant as of the moment.

 

“I’m kind of glad that we are here instead of going to where the President is.” Hyukjae commented. “Nothing can beat this place.”

 

“Yeah…” Donghae marveled, but he can’t help but to feel a bit sad.

 

“This is the fifth Lunar New Year that I am not spending with my family.” Donghae whispered.

 

“Oh, Hae…” Hyukjae said comforted him with a hug.

 

“It’s all my fault.”

 

“What do you mean? You didn’t do anything, Hae, they might still be around-“

 

“No! If I…I…” Tears welled up in his eyes. “If I didn’t ask my father to visit my mother’s grave, none of this would have happened to me.”

 

“But you said you were going home after graduation, didn’t you?”

 

Donghae shook his head. “We were, but I begged my father to make a small detour and visit the cemetery along the way. I wanted to tell my mother that I graduated and was ready to go on to pharmacy school. Now because of my decision, I don’t even know where my family is, or are they still alive after the incident.” He burst out crying.

 

“No, Donghae, it’s not your fault.” Hyukjae chided. “You didn’t know that there will be an accident, and it was right for you to visit your dead mother. I would have done the same thing if I were you.”

 

“Please don’t cry anymore, Hae…You are breaking my heart…” Hyukjae continued as Donghae kept sobbing, trying to lighten the mood. “Why are you such a crybaby? Am I taking care of a guy who is the same age as me or a five-year old kid?”

 

Donghae cried even harder at those words. Hyukjae tensed and pulled away a little to see those teary eyes. “Hae, why are you crying even more now? Did I say something wrong?”

 

“…I hate it.”

 

“What? What did I say?”

 

“I hate it when you have to take care of me!” Donghae burst. “I am dragging you into my fucked-up world where you have a chance to get killed every day. You were living a stable life before you met me, and because of me now you have to look after me and try not to get caught yourself! I already might have caused the death of my brother and father, and I am about to cause another death, as well as the people at the hospital and Heechul too because of their involvement. I should’ve have died a week ago, you would have lived on with your life with the others. I’m so scared, Hyukjae…I’m scared of losing you.”

 

He let all of the bitter thoughts out that he had cumulated since that morning, which grew worse when he saw how Hyukjae was trying to keep their presence low throughout the day, including suspecting Taehyung.

 

Hyukjae just stared at him with mouth open. It was a very long silence before he finally spoke.

 

“You want to push me away so that I won’t get hurt? And you will instead? That is just dumb, Donghae.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Donghae…I know what you meant…but I wanted to do this. Look at me, Donghae.” Hyukjae said firmly. Donghae stopped crying and looked up at him.

 

He was so surprised by Donghae’s outburst that he needed a while to collect his thoughts. “Please don’t feel bad, Hae. I knew the risks since those guards pointed their guns at me on the day that I met you. I stayed with you this entire time because you deserve a chance to live again. If the director recognized and started to hunt you, I will be with you.

 

“And if your brother and father are dead, they would be watching you from up there with your mom, cheering you on to live and survive. Stop thinking about death because you are still alive, Donghae.” He brushed away the tears. “Don’t say those stuff ever again okay? I’m sure if the others heard you, they will say the same thing that I said.”

 

Donghae started crying again, he lunged forward and embraced Hyukjae tightly. It was a long time before he finally spoke. “Thank you so much, Hyukkie.” His voice was rough yet vulnerable from crying so much.

 

“Whatever that keeps my patient happy.” Hyukjae replied, brushing away the tears.

 

Donghae scoffed a little and regarded him right in the eye. His left eye was still a gorgeous hue of blue that reminded Hyukjae of the sea. He looked like he wanted to say something but he stopped. “Hyukkie, look.” He pointed up above the flowers.

 

Little dots of light slowly rose above the treeline. “It’s starting.” Hyukjae said.

 

Donghae hurried inside to get their lanterns ready. “How do we light them up?”

 

“Oh…” The hotel didn’t provide them with a lighter.

 

“Wait, I have an idea.” Donghae said as he closed his eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, the wicks lit up with a small flame.

 

“How did you do that? I thought you have telekinesis, not setting stuff on fire.” Hyukjae gaped.

 

“I just concentrated on the air molecules around the wick to move and vibrate faster, so the temperature rises. Thankfully that cotton’s ignition temperature is not much higher than boiling point of water.”

 

“That’s so creative.” Hyukjae smiled. “You can use your telekinesis for a lot of things then. Not only you can break stuff, you can set things on fire now.”

 

“Yeah, but it tires me more because imagining air molecules is hard.” Donghae said. Hyukjae noticed that he wobbled slightly.

 

“Whoa, there. We can’t have you fall asleep right now, right?”

 

“I’m fine, Hyuk. Just a little dizzy.”

 

Together, they waited for the candles to burn a little more so that the air inside was hot enough. “Ready?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae nodded and they released their lantern into the sky.

 

They watched as the paper lanterns joined the others. The tiny lights dotted in the night sky like fireflies. “Beautiful.” Hyukjae said, while hesitantly grab hold of Donghae’s hand. He could hear the silver hair’s breath hitched.

 

“Donghae…do you want to know what I wished for?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Donghae turned to him curiously. “What?”

 

Hyukjae stared at those pair of honey-brown eyes. “I wished that we will be together, forever. I will be there for you whenever you are hurting, and whenever you are smiling.”

 

Donghae’s eyes widened. Hyukjae felt his own cheeks burning up as he pulled Donghae closer. So close that he could feel the other’s warm breath on his lips.

 

“Do you want to know my wish?” Donghae said with a shy smile.

 

“My previous wish was that you live happily without me around, hurting you. But after what you said, I’m going changing it because like you said, it’s stupid. I wish that you will be happy _with_ me around, no matter what happens. You’re always with me when I’m hurt, and I should be with you when you are hurt too.”

 

“No matter what happens…” Hyukjae repeated, a gummy smile slowly bloomed as he thought of Donghae’s words.

 

A distant bell tolled, signifying the start of a new year. They looked up and saw fireworks burst in the sky, painting the night with a spectacular palette of colours.

 

“Happy New Year, Hyukkie.”

 

“You too, Hae.” Hyukjae said.

 

Both of them were still holding each other close within grasp, looking deep into each other’s eyes. They both know what was coming.

 

Hyukjae cupped Donghae’s chin with his hands and slowly leaned forward. He closed his eyes as he brushed his plump lips against Donghae’s thin ones. His hands gently caressed the soft silk of Donghae’s hanbok. It was a very innocent and sweet one, yet Hyukjae’s heart was pounding at a thousand beats per minute.

 

He opened his eyes a little to look at Donghae’s reaction. The silver-hair had his eyes closed as well. As Hyukjae watched, the other tilted his head to deepen the kiss, opened his mouth slightly and molded their lips together perfectly. Donghae’s grip tightened on Hyukjae’s back, as if he was scared to let him go.

 

They stayed like that for a few moments before Donghae pulled away, leaving Hyukjae with a tingling sensation on his lips. He opened his eyes and Hyukjae found himself staring that the brilliant gold iris, brighter than any firework that Hyukjae had seen his life.

 

“You are so beautiful, Donghae.” Hyukjae murmured as he brushed his thumbs on the vanilla skin.

 

Donghae blushed slightly and responded in an equally soft voice. “I could say the same to you.”

 

Hyukjae smiled and pulled Donghae closed again, drowning himself in the golden eye.

 

“I love you, Donghae.” Hyukjae whispered before he leaned down and kissed the other again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: On the Lunar Calendar, Donghae and I were born on the same date (12th of the 9th Month)!
> 
> Next: Chapter 7: Unravel
> 
> I will NOT be posting a chapter next week because of school work, sorry guys. But a double update could happen on the following week. I will update here in the notes when time comes closer.
> 
> Update: There will be two chapters coming next week, but it will not be a double update (one on June 4, another on June 8)
> 
> I also opened a Twitter account recently! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123
> 
> This story is now also available on AFF.
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you all for the support so far! :)


	8. Chapter 7: Unravel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Love you so bad, I’ll mold a pretty lie for you.”

“I love you, Donghae.”

 

Donghae’s heart fluttered as Hyukjae leaned in and kissed him again. To say that Hyukjae’s lips felt good was a complete understatement. The kiss was like the first one they had a few moments ago, but with more emotions.

 

After they pulled away again to catch their breath, Donghae whispered. “I love you too, Hyukjae.”

 

And with that, Donghae crashed his lips against his. This time, the kiss turned more passionate as they both expressed their love for each other. Donghae gripped tightly on Hyukjae’s silk hanbok while opening his mouth a little to make the kiss deeper.

 

Hyukjae’s eyes widened. Without warning, the other lifted Donghae without breaking the kiss and carried him inside. He closed the balcony door with one foot and gently set Donghae down on the bed.

 

Donghae suddenly felt a little nibble on his lower lips. He looked up and Hyukjae was giving him a questioning look and realized that the other was asking for his approval. He felt himself starting to heat up on the inside, Donghae blushed and opened his mouth a little more so that Hyukjae could have access.

 

He closed his eyes and moaned as the smooth muscle glided over his own. It felt a little strange at first because he hadn’t had a kiss like this since his little relationships here and there in university, but it quickly turned pleasant as Hyukjae explored the cavern, tasting every inch of the inner surface. In response, Donghae experimentally slid his tongue into Hyukjae’s mouth, earning a moan from the dark-hair as they intertwined their tongues.

 

 _He tastes like heaven._ Donghae thought through the haze of comfort and pleasant.

 

After a very long time, they broke the kiss to catch their breaths. Donghae opened his eyes and was surprised at how much his eyesight had sharpened: in the dark bedroom only lit by the faint red moonlight and fireworks, he could make out every little feature of Hyukjae’s face: the sharp jawline, the little eye wrinkles, the pointy round nose. His black hair was even messier than before, but it made him look extremely good. The other’s cologne fragrance was so intoxicating with his sensitive nose.

 

Then he realized how aroused he was.

 

As soon as Hyukjae pulled away, he couldn’t help but to want more. The other’s lips were so addicting and he loved feeling those muscles under the clothes. Every inch of his skin was heating up underneath the silk and itching to be exposed. “Hyukkie…” Donghae whimpered.

 

Hyukjae looked at him, slightly surprised. “Are you that aroused?”.

 

“Don’t make fun of me! You know I get very sensitive when I am…’agitated’.” Donghae whined.

 

“I wasn’t planning on making fun of you.” Hyukjae chuckled. “Well fine, maybe a little.”

 

“I want more.”

 

The pair of chocolate eyes widened. “What?”

 

“I want more, Hyukkie. Please.” Donghae said. His body was heating up even more because of the close proximity.

 

“Are you sure, Hae? I don’t want to, you know, trigger those bad memories…” Hyukjae said with uncertainty. “I don’t want to hurt you by accident, physically or mentally.”

 

Donghae was touched by Hyukjae’s consideration. He was really glad that he made the decision to like Hyukjae. “I want you…” He was starting to sweat. Beads of salt was forming on his scalp.

 

Hyukjae gulped visibly from the sight, looking conflicted. Then after about ten seconds, he spoke. “How about this. I won’t do _that_ tonight, but I will make you feel good. Is that okay?”

 

“Make me feel good?” Donghae asked with confusion. The other didn’t answer. Instead, Hyukjae went back to kissing him while his hands moved to untie the ribbons of Donghae’s hanbok. At this point, Donghae was completely covered in sweat, but that didn’t stop him to do the same for Hyukjae. Soon they were both half-naked and running their hands on each other’s skin. The silk cloth was thrown somewhere off the bed. Hyukjae’s hands felt like fire on Donghae’s sides as he became even more sensitive.

 

Hyukjae broke the kiss and began to slowly trace his lips down Donghae’s jawline, causing the silver-hair to gasp in surprise. Donghae wrapped his arms around Hyukjae’s back to pull the other in so that there were zero distance between their bodies. Hyukjae stopped at the neck and began to suck on the sensitive skin.

 

Donghae mewled in pleasure. “Oh god, Hyukkie…” He could feel himself slowly began to harden.

 

“You like it?” Came a low, husky voice.

 

Before Donghae could even respond, Hyukjae had already moved on down to his chest. Hyukjae’s lips trailed down and tenderly kissed every pale scar that he came across, making Donghae close and roll his eyes, lost in the pleasure and comfort. Eventually, Hyukjae made his way to his nipple and began to suck on it while massaged the other with his fingers. Donghae let out a loud moan as he felt the other’s tongue licked the spot and arched his back, which allowed Hyukjae to run his hands along his back.

 

“Hyukkie…”

 

But Hyukjae just ignored him as he continued the torturous pleasure. He switched to the other one before he made his way to Donghae’s abdomen, licking over every inch of skin he could find, causing Donghae to writhe within Hyukjae’s grasp. His erection was fully hard by then in his boxers. “Hyukkie, please. I need to…” He let out a groan before he could finish his sentence when Hyukjae found a sensitive spot.

 

“This is a little payback for what you did to me back in the salon.” Hyukjae said as he continued to lick the other, but not forgetting to stop and kiss the scars. Donghae whined as Hyukjae stayed there and not traveled south any further. He could feel the tension inside him rising.

 

He yelped and opened his eyes when he felt Hyukjae’s fingers pulled on the fabric of his boxers from behind. Suddenly, Donghae found himself back in his cell with all the guards around him.

 

“No…Please…” Donghae started to panic. His breathing rapidly increased and heart pounding.

 

“Donghae! Snap out of it!”

 

_What?_

 

He shook his head and the cell melted away, replaced by Hyukjae and the bedroom. Donghae realized that he must have had a flashback. The other had stopped what he was doing and pulled up to see his face. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Hyukjae said with a panicked voice, his eyes were filled with worry and fear. “I didn’t mean to. Maybe we should just-“

 

Before Hyukjae could continue, Donghae pulled him down and just hugged him. He slowly relaxed as his brain registered the other’s scent. “No, it’s fine. It’s just that…it only has been a week, right? I’m sure it will go away soon.”

 

“But if we keep going…” Hyukjae was still unconvinced.

 

“How about…I sit up a little so that I can see you?” Donghae asked. “I won’t panic because I will know that it’s you then.”

 

Hyukjae considered. “Okay.” He said. He helped Donghae get up so that he could stick the pillow against the headrest. Hyukjae then lifted Donghae back so that his head and upper body were leaning against the upright pillow. Donghae marveled at how Hyukjae could shift from being so sexy and hot to sweet and caring in an instant.

 

Hyukjae made his way down again. He looked up and asked. “Ready?”

 

Donghae nodded and Hyukjae went back to caressing his torso. The heat and tension were rising again from the touches. Hyukjae used one hand to palm the fabric and the other to brush the inner thighs, reducing Donghae to a moaning mess.

 

“Hyukjae, please.”

 

“Please what?”

 

“Please…” Donghae’s cheeks were turning red from embarrassment. “Touch me.”

 

“I can’t hear you.” Hyukjae teased while using both hands to palm the clothed erection.

 

“Touch me, Hyukkie!” Donghae burst while hiding his face in his hands.

 

Hyukjae chuckled. “How are you so shy at this moment?” He said while slowly pulling down the boxer. Donghae’s erection sprang up, already leaking with pre-cum.

 

Donghae shuddered when he saw Hyukjae wrapped his hand around the shaft and slowly started pumping. “Oooh, Hyukkie…” His hips subconsciously started to thrust upwards.

 

Hyukjae smirked. “Glad you liked that.” Without warning, he took Donghae to his mouth and began to suck. Donghae screamed from the immense pleasure. He was glad that the house was isolated from the others, or else they will get noise complaint immediately.

 

Hyukjae slowly sank his head down, swallowing the entire length before pulling back up and dug his tongue into the slit, causing Donghae to thrash around. The slick and warm inner surface felt surreal around Donghae’s cock, and the sensation magnified when the tongue started to wrap around the shaft.

 

“Hyukkie…I’m getting clo-AH!” Donghae screamed the last part when Hyukjae sank down all the way and hummed.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” Hyukjae said while repeating the same action, but slower which made Donghae whimper.

 

“Oooh, Hyuk, please, faster, I’m getting close. Please, please let me cum. Please!” Donghae begged and started to thrust upwards.

 

“As you wish.” Hyukjae murmured and started to move faster. Donghae screamed even more as Hyukjae was doing wonders with his mouth. Warmth pooled in his lower body as he started to reach the edge.

 

“-jae, I-AH-need to…” Donghae managed to say between screams and moans. He grabbed the black hair to try to contain himself for a little longer

 

Hyukjae understood and with one last movement, he dropped all the way down to the hilt and sucked. Donghae threw his head back and came hard in Hyukjae’s mouth, screaming the other’s name. Hyukjae continue to suck him dry and swallow all of Donghae’s load, keeping Donghae on his high for a while before released the other with a wet plop.

 

“Donghae…are you…alright?” Hyukjae asked when he saw him panting and sweating like a madman.

 

Donghae didn’t say anything but to sit up and grabbed the other. He pulled Hyukjae right up up to his face and kissed him. “That,” He said breathlessly after breaking the kiss. “was amazing. Thanks Hyukkie.” He could see Hyukjae blush.

 

“But Hyuk, don’t you need to…?” Donghae asked while pointing at Hyukjae’s torso. He could clearly see other’s erection taut against the boxer.

 

“No, I’ll be fine, Hae. You don’t need to worry-”

 

Donghae kissed him harshly to shut the other up while yanking down the fabric with both hands. Hyukjae’s dark brown eyes widened when Donghae wrapped his hand around both of their cock and started stroking. A loud moan escaped Hyukjae’s swollen lips, causing Donghae to harden again.

 

“Hae, you don’t have to do th-” Hyukjae said with a strained voice after they broke apart to catch their breath. However, Donghae interrupted him with another kiss.

 

“Shut up, Hyuk.” He started to pump faster.

 

Hyukjae moaned and started to thrust in sync to the strokes. The friction between their dicks was so delicious that they were both close within a few minutes.

 

“Oh god, Hae…” Hyukjae murmured in Donghae’s lips.

 

“Yes, Hyukkie, yes…” Donghae answered, grinding his hips against the other.

 

Hyukjae’s body convulsed as he released in Donghae’s hand. The enticing pulse caused Donghae to cum as well. Donghae continued to stroke while both of them moaned in each other’s mouth as they came down from their orgasmic high. They were completely soaked in sweat.

 

Hyukjae collapsed on top of Donghae. Both of them didn’t talk for a while as they tried to catch their breaths. Donghae could tell the other was about to fall asleep from exhaustion. “Hyukkie, I think we should clean up…I mean, we smell really bad.”

 

Hyukjae lifted his head to look at him. “Do we? I mean, smelling like sex isn’t _that_ bad…”

 

“Sensitive nose.”

 

“Oh, right.” Hyukjae sat up and carried Donghae to the bathroom. He filled the bathtub with warm water and sat in it with Donghae. The other gently washed Donghae before he cleaned himself.

 

“So...did you enjoy it?” Hyukjae asked Donghae as he dried him. He looked a bit nervous.

 

Donghae grinned. “Of course I did.”

 

Hyukjae smiled in relief and kissed him.

 

 _One of the best night I’ve ever had in a long time._ Donghae thought happily.

 

Hyukjae carried him back to the bedroom and they both settled into bed, watching the last of the fireworks while sharing little kisses. Neither of them bothered to find some clothes to wear before they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_Lunar Celebration, Day 3 (Sunday, Lunar New Year)_

 

Hyukjae groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He registered the faint sunlight behind the fluffy clouds outside the window before he noticed the feeling of bare skin around him. Hyukjae looked down and found Donghae sleeping soundly in the crook of his neck, smiling in his dreams. The memories of the night before came flooding back and Hyukjae smiled, cuddling the silver-hair closer and inhaled the sweet scent.

 

Donghae slowly stirred awake from the movement. He let out a small whine and opened his sleepy honey-brown eyes. Hyukjae remembered how brightly the iris glowed when Donghae released himself. “Good morning.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled. “Morning, Hae.” He pecked the other on the lips. “God, you are so adorable.”

 

Donghae giggled and nuzzled himself in the other’s hold, while the other played with his fluffy shiny hair lazily. Both of them weren’t bothered by the fact that they were still naked since last night brought them closer than ever.

 

Hyukjae’s phone buzzed nearby, and Hyukjae rolled over to check the text message that he just received. “It’s Heechul.” Hyukjae said. “He wants to meet with all of us for breakfast at the dining hall of the Horizon in...thirty minutes?!”

 

Donghae yawned and stretched his limbs. “Okay, we better hurry then.” He kissed Hyukjae on the cheeks before running off the closet. Hyukjae smiled at Donghae’s affection and adorableness before he got up as well.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Taehyung stretched a little before he continued his walk outside of the hotel. He always loved a little private time without being concerned about bumping into one of his fans (Donghae and Hyukjae were exceptions). It was the last day of the celebration and Taehyung still had to complete his mission, but he believed that deliberately laying back to let the enemy come out by themselves would make things a little easier.

 

Although, bumping into Donghae was quite an interesting for Taehyung. There was something about the other that seemed strangely familiar…

 

All of the sudden, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Taehyung fished it out of his pocket and answered. “Yes?”

 

“I looked up the name that you gave me.” The voice on the other side said.

 

“And?”

 

“He had no activities for five years until a week ago. His name appeared on a medical record of the main hospital of Seoul that was erased soon after. The other names that you gave me are staffs at the hospital.”

 

“Interesting…I might look more into them. How about the director?”

 

“Nowhere in sight, and same for the Leader. How are things on your end?”

 

“Same thing, I couldn’t find them either…” Taehyung stopped on his track. Before him stood the man that he knew for a very long time.

 

“Never mind, found him.” He hung up.

 

The other noticed him and slowly smirked, his green reptilian eyes narrowing. Taehyung knew what he was thinking without even trying. _Found you._

 

Taehyung cursed, he was trying to find the director himself as well, but he wasn’t expecting to meet in this way. He was unarmed and only dressed in plain clothes. He needed to change his plans immediately.

 

Without a word, he melted into a group of passing celebrities and moved away from the older man. However, running away would soon be a non-viable option.

 

_Time is running out Taehyung. You better start finding things._

 

 --------------------------------------------------

 

“Did you two have fun?” Heechul asked with a smirk.

 

Hyukjae shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The dining hall at the Horizon was not as fancy as the one at the Zenith, but it was just as crowded and the food was just as good. Heechul, Leeteuk, Siwon, Sungmin, and Kyuhyun managed to combine tables so that they could all sit together.

 

“What do you mean?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“You know what I mean.” Heechul grinned evilly. Hyukjae noticed that Sungmin and Kyuhyun had the identical grin as well. Things were never good when those three come together.

 

“We didn’t.” Donghae said quickly. His cheeks were red like Hyukjae’s

 

“You both are bad liars.” Kyuhyun snorted. “Do you think we don’t see the hickey on Donghae?”

 

Hyukjae’s eyes flew toward Donghae’s neck. Sure enough, there was a purplish-brown spot on his neck. Hyukjae remembered last night that he was sucking on Donghae. “Sorry Hae, I didn’t mean to…”

 

Donghae sighed. “It’s fine, Hyuk. But we didn’t do it, honestly.” He turned to the trio.

 

“One day you guys will get there.” Kyuhyun said with a wink.

 

“Alright Kyu, that’s enough.” Siwon chided. Hyukjae could hear Sungmin mutter “Only I get to call him ‘Kyu’”.

 

“Why do you want us to gather here, Heechul?” Leeteuk turned his attention to the feminine man.

 

“Oh, right. I was informed that there was a slight change of things tonight.” Heechul said. “Apparently, the attendance of the closing ceremony is made mandatory to attend. No excuses allowed.”

 

“What’s the point of that? People would go anyways since it’s the closing ceremony.” Leeteuk said.

 

“Well, it will be late at night and some people would not bother to go all the way up the mountain.” Heechul’s eyes flicked toward Sungmin and Kyuhyun for a moment. “I don’t want the security to catch someone that I know not attending the event and doing some other wild things.”

 

“Is this the whole point of the meeting?” Siwon asked.

 

“Yes, horseface. Oh, and I need to give you the clothes for tonight as well. Come with me to the front doors.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Sipping on his cup of coffee, Donghwa was watching the news on the TV screen at his home. Ever since two days ago, every news station mentioned the Lunar Celebration at least three times per day. Top of all that, this was his fifth time hearing the news about this that day.

 

Donghwa didn’t like the growing attention this was getting. He knew that media were not allowed in the proximity, but he still felt very anxious about something going wrong.

 

His mind went back to thinking about the materials that were shipped into the Resort before the event. He was getting very suspicious about those because the organization had never done something so large-scale before.

 

Donghwa decided to pick up his phone and dialed a number. Only after two rings, one of his subordinates picked up.

 

“Hello, Sir? How may I help you?”

 

“Can you send me the blueprints of what was shipped into the Resort?”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae quietly closed the bedroom door after he tucked the other into the bed. They got back from the Horizon after Heechul made them try out their outfits and ate lunch. Donghae got sleepy along the way and Hyukjae let him take a nap before the closing ceremony. Hyukjae figured that the other must still be tired from their activities last night.

 

At this point, Hyukjae was no longer bothered by the fact that Donghae was the same age as him. He kind of liked pampering over the other when the silver-hair acted like a big baby.

 

 _How long can I keep these promises with Donghwa though?_ He thought bitterly to himself. Hyukjae knew that Donghae would not be very happy when he finds out about this, but it was for the best for both Donghae and Donghwa.

 

He still had no idea about what to do with the third and last promise.

 

_Make him forget about me._

 

Hyukjae sighed. All he could hope for was that Donghae would get better enough to forget about his horrendous past and live on without fear. However, he knew it would take a long time judging from Donghae’s reaction when he touched him during the previous night.

 

_Now that I’m alone…_

 

Hyukjae went downstairs to the living room and pulled out the small black phone. He kept it hidden near the fireplace so that Donghae wouldn’t be able to find it by accident. Hyukjae opened the phone and began to read the screenshotted logs that Donghwa sent to him a few days ago.

 

_Day 1_

_Subject vitals stable. Begin injection of carcinogenic agents._

 

Hyukjae’s blood ran cold. “ _Carcinogenic agents”?_

 

He scrolled through the first couple of pictures, which was filled with repetitive logs of injections. He got to Day 8 when the logs began to change.

 

_Day 8_

_Signs of cancer begin to show around injection area. Direction of growth is ideal. Vitals stable._

_Day 10_

_Subject begins to show signs of headache and nausea. Neural network 50% saturated._

_Day 11_

_Subject shows increased pain feedback, as well as occasional short-term memory loss and fainting. Neural network 80% saturated._

_Day 12_

_Subject shows intense pain feedback, vomiting, seizure, inability to walk. Neural network 100% saturated. Subject vitals extremely unstable. Begin transformation in 15 hours._

Hyukjae gulped. _So they developed cancer in his entire nervous system to prepare for something else? This is just cruel!_

_Day 13_

_Neural network 120% saturated. Injection successful._

_Day 14_

_Subject shows signs of recovery. Neural network remains similar structure._

_Day 17_

_65% of cancer cells converted to stem cells. Stem cells show characteristics of cancer cell, including rapid replication, no apoptosis, enhanced metabolism._

_Day 18_

_All cancer cells converted to stem cells. 35% of stems cells differentiated into beta nerve cells. Subject vitals approach normal._

_Day 20_

_Innervation of new nerves in support of cranial nerve II, III, IV, VI. Signs of development of cranial nerve I, VIII, IX. Eye pigmentation began to vary due to new electrical signals of neurons. Nerve innervation suggest new connections to the limbic system._

_Day 23_

_Development of cranial nerve slows. Rapid development of peripheral nervous system. Dynamic movement of neurons detected. Subject shows increased sensitivity to surroundings._

_Day 31_

_Neural development complete._

Hyukjae had to drop the phone for a moment to collect on what he just read. In just a period of a month, Donghae developed a new nervous system in a practice that was unheard of anywhere.

 

_“Cancer cells converted to stem cells”…Genetic modification?_

 

_But that doesn’t explain his telekinesis._

 

Hyukjae decided to continue reading.

 

_Day 42_

_Subject begins to show signs of magnetic field manipulation via neuron rearrangement. Hypothesized that high concentration of electrical signals could alter external magnetic field. Further studies will be conducted._

_Day 75_

_Magnetic field creation and distortion can be clearly observed when subject interacts objects with his mind. DNA #10041504 proven successful. Administer suppressant drug before further testing._

 

Hyukjae nearly dropped the phone.

 

 _Donghae could manipulate the magnetic field by using his neuron’s electric signals. That’s how he could move things with his mind._ He also recalled that Donghae mentioned he used to take a blue pill daily to keep his neurons suppressed.

Hyukjae flipped through the next few logs to find that the experiments became more and more horrible, each had lengthened with detailed description of the procedures and results of each experiments. _Regeneration after neuron removal via surgery, pain tolerance, nerve agent resistance_ …

 

He decided to scroll all the to the last log before he could get sick and throw up.

 

The last log was short yet chilling.

 

_Day 1713_

_All experiments complete. Subject Beta is proven to be an enhancement. Proceed on to next phase._

 

Hyukjae paused and reread the sentence several times. Then, without hesitation, he promptly called the number on this small black phone.

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Taehyung gritted his teeth as his knee banged against something hard. It was dark and he was stupid enough to forget bringing a flashlight, and the one on his phone didn’t work really well. He was in the basement of the N Seoul Tower, after he secretly watched the director walked in and out of the “Authorized Personnel Only” Door.

 

 _Why is he here?_ Taehyung wondered. _It’s just a dark room full of supplies._

 

He searched around to find anything suspicious. However, like the two rounds before, he came up with nothing.

 

_There has to be something here._

 

Suddenly, he tripped over a wire and fell forward. Taehyung crashed against a huge cardboard box and groaned in pain. He got up and brush his hands together to get rid of some of the dust when he noticed something.

 

Because of his fall, he had actually moved the box by several inches, revealing a dark passageway behind. Taehyung grabbed his phone and try to make out what was in the dark space. Seeing nothing, he pushed the box further to allow himself enter the space.

 

Taehyung still saw nothing until his brain fully registered the pitch-black passageway. Unlike the basement, the passageway was not finished with cement walls, but made of soil and sand. He then noticed something blinking red in the distance.

 

Cautiously, he walked up to the light and froze on his track. It was a digital timer.

 

9:05:34

 

9:05:33

 

9:05:32

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae slowly woke up from his nap. He realized that Hyukjae must have tucked him in because the other was not with him on the bed. He groggily sat up and shuffled his feet across the carpet to open the bedroom door.

 

Before he could turn the doorknob, Donghae heard Hyukjae’s voice from downstairs.

 

“Donghwa, what does it mean?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter than the others. I didn't feel like a full-on smut fit well at this point in the plot, so I decided to go for a "milder" one. But, I promise there will be more in the future. :)
> 
> Next: TBA, June 8
> 
> I also opened a Twitter account recently! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123
> 
> This story is now also available on AFF.
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)
> 
> Update: Sorry guys! My internet is acting weird and I couldn't post the new chapter...I will try again tomorrow since it is getting very late here :(


	9. Chapter 8: Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Deeper and deeper, the wound just gets deeper.”

_Lunar Celebration, Day 3 (Sunday, Lunar New Year)_ , _9:01:48_

 

“Donghwa, what does it mean?” Hyukjae asked the other person on the phone. “Why does the last log say ‘Subject Beta is proven to be an enhancement’?”

 

It was a long silence before the other finally responded. “Hyukjae, Donghae is not the first one.”

 

“There were others before him?”

 

“Yes. Donghae is part of the Beta phase. The Alpha phase was conducted years before in China. Unfortunately, the facility had an incident once the research was concluded.”

 

“Incident…like the one you caused?”

 

“I wasn’t part of the organization at the time and from what I heard, it was more violent. A group of people had invaded and it was a bloodbath. All subjects that were alive at the time were either killed or gone missing.”

 

“Subjects?” Hyukjae asked. “Plural?”

 

“Yes, subjects. I assume you had read through all the logs of the Beta phase. The Alpha procedure was much more ‘mild’ comparing to Beta so there were multiple subjects. Donghae was the only one that survived the Beta procedure.”

 

“But why Donghae?” Hyukjae asked. “You never told me the answer to that.” He remembered that he asked Donghwa about it during their meeting a week ago, but the brunet evaded answering.

 

Donghwa was silent. “I can’t tell you Hyukjae, sorry. It hurts for me and it will hurt Donghae even more if he finds out.”

 

“But he won’t find-”

 

_Creak._

 

Hyukjae was startled by the sudden sound behind him. He jumped and turned around to find Donghae staring at him, eyes wide with shock.

 

_Oh, fuck._

 

“Y-you…you…” Donghae stammered.

 

“Donghae, I-I can explain-” Hyukjae began to say.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Donghae’s eyes were welling up with tears. “Why didn’t you tell me that you knew my brother?”

 

“H-how much did you hear?”

 

“Everything!” Donghae shouted. “You didn’t say anything about knowing my brother. You knew what happened to me but you didn’t say about that either.”

 

“Donghae, please listen to me.” Hyukjae begged.

 

“You kept all of that away from me, you liar!” Donghae’s left eye was turning into a dangerous shade of red behind the angry tears. “What other things are you hiding from me?”

 

“Donghae-” Hyukjae tried to reach for the other and calm him down.

 

“Don’t touch me! You knew something that is going to happen here during the Lunar Celebration, didn’t you? That’s why you kept me from going out. For all I know, you could be one of those people that kept me in that hellhole.” Donghae spat. “What are you planning to do? Kidnap me and take me back?”

 

“What? No! It’s true that I kept you from going out, but Hae, please-”

 

“Don’t call me Hae, you don’t deserve it!” Donghae’s words stung like burning acid. “You lied to me about my family. You lied to me about not knowing my condition. You lied to me about this event. And-” He stopped. “did you lie to me about liking me? Loving me?”

 

“Donghae, please.” Hyukjae was close to crying himself. “I did lie to you-”

 

_Wrong move, Hyukjae._

 

Donghae didn’t let him finish. “So you were lying to me about everything.” He was shaking with rage. “And you touch me like that last night. You and all those bastards tried to take away my freedom, and now you are trying to play with my feelings too?”

 

“Donghae-” Hyukjae tried to reach for him again.

 

“Get away from me! You make me sick.” Donghae stormed out of the house.

 

“Donghae, no!” Hyukjae tried to follow him, but he was suddenly lurched backwards as if someone grabbed and pulled around his waist. He crashed against the wall and landed on the floor with a thud. Dazed from the pain, he got up only to see the front door was opened ajar, and Donghae running away down the elevator track.

 

Without his contacts.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Taehyung slowly backed away from the timed explosive in front of him. Judging from the size and shape of the bomb, Taehyung deduced that it could bring down the entire tower, or at least damaging it enough that it will tilt dangerously over the side of the mountain.

 

 _Guests need to be evacuated immediately._ Taehyung thought, but then he frowned.

 

_If the bomb is going to go off here in about 9 hours…isn’t that the time of the closing ceremony? There would be no people here, why didn’t they plant it at the hall?_

 

Taehyung suddenly felt a breeze through the corridor. _Caves don’t have breeze…unless there is another opening somewhere else._

 

Then he gagged. The breeze carried a stench that smelled like rotten eggs.

 

 _Rotten eggs? Did someone forget their lunch here?_ He placed a hand on the wall to steady himself and not to throw up.

 

He noticed that the wall felt a little strange. He pulled the hand back and was surprised that his hand was covered in something black. He used the flashlight on his phone to help identify the material.  _Charcoal._

 

_Charcoal…rotten eggs…sulfur?_

 

_Wait._

 

_Charcoal and sulfur?_

 

He tried to focus on the walls of the cave in the poor lighting and realized that there were streaks of black substance that ran down the length, deeper into the cave.

 

_Gunpowder._

 

Taehyung ran back to the basement and up the stairs to the surface. He waited for his phone to get stronger signal and dialed a number.

 

“Hello?”

 

“I found something. Something very bad.” Taehyung said quickly over phone while running back to his hotel.

 

Before he could enter the building, someone rushed out beside him, crying. He wasn’t wearing anything warm for the cold February air, and it was getting a little cloudy as well.

 

Taehyung recognized the silver hair. _Donghae?_

 

He thought he saw something blue in one of Donghae’s eyes, but he ignored it because there was a bigger problem.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hyukjae, what happened?” Donghwa asked. He was still on the line when Donghae was yelling at Hyukjae.

 

“Donghae heard us talking.” Hyukjae said with tears. “He heard everything and ran away before I could even explain.”

 

Donghwa gasped on the phone. “Shit.”

 

Hyukjae was surprised because he never heard the head of the hospital swore before, not even when he was drunk. ‘Sir, is there something wrong?”

 

“Before you called, I was going through all the blueprints of materials that were shipped to the Resort. Among them were blueprints of explosives. From what I could tell, one of them is enough to blow everything within 500 meters to oblivion.”

 

Hyukjae gulped. “That’s very powerful.”

 

“But what I found strange is that only handful of the explosives were timed, and majority are set to be detonated by heat.” Donghwa said. “Also, there was a huge amount of gunpowder that was shipped.”

 

Hyukjae sat in silence and tried to put the pieces together. “Are you thinking that…the timed ones are set to begin a series of explosions? Since gunpowder could be used to connect to the ones that are not timed.”

 

“It is very possible, but I’m trying to figure out where they could hide all these explosives in the area.” Donghwa said. “I’ll figure something out. Hyukjae, please find Donghae as soon as possible. The organization is planning something very deadly.”

 

“I understand Sir.” Hyukjae then had an idea. “Sir, do you have access to the surveillance camera?”

 

“I could, but it is very easy for me to be detected.” Donghwa said.

 

_Then I have to find someone else…_

_Taehyung?_

 

Hyukjae was a little unsure to trust Taehyung under this kind of situation, but he knew time is running out and he needed to find Donghae. Fast.

 

“It’s alright sir. I will think of some other ways. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep the three promises, Sir.” Hyukjae said sadly.

 

“It’s fine, Hyukjae. I realized myself that Donghae would figure it out eventually. It’s bound to happen. We will sort it out after the event. Okay?” Donghwa said.

 

“Okay, Sir. I will inform you once I found Donghae.” Hyukjae ended the call and ran upstairs to find something to wear outside.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_8:42:03_

 

“Taehyung!”

 

Taehyung spun around to see Hyukjae running towards him. He had finished his call in the lobby and was about to head back to his place to prepare.

 

“Oh, hey Hyukjae. What happened?” Taehyung asked once Hyukjae stopped in front of him, hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath.

 

“Have you seen Donghae?

 

“Oh yeah, I did.” Taehyung replied. “I was entering through the front door when he rushed past me. He looked like he was crying.”

 

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Hyukjae cursed. “Did you see where he was going?”

 

“No, sorry. Did something happen between you two?”

 

“Yeah, he’s upset with me.” Taehyung noticed the puffy red eyes.

 

 _He really likes him._ Taehyung thought and smiled to himself.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I lied to him about something, but it was for his own good. He didn’t let me explain before he ran away. Can you help me find him?”

 

Taehyung wanted to say no because he had to go take care of the bomb. However, seeing the pleading look in Hyukjae’s eyes made him waver. “How?”

 

“Surveillance camera. I figured that since you infected the system, you should be able to access it somewhere.”

 

Taehyung considered. “Okay, come with me.” He led the other to his house and opened his computer. Taehyung opened his computer and ran a software. Seconds later, a bank of surveillance cameras opened up, showing the activities of the entire Resort.

 

Taehyung opened one that showed the front doors of the Horizon and rewind back a few minutes to find Donghae. He followed the silver-hair across multiple cameras to track his movements.

 

“Oh, no.” Taehyung cursed.

 

Donghae had ran inside the N Seoul Tower.

 

“There is a bomb there…” He muttered to himself.

 

Hyukjae looked at him. “What?!”

 

“Fuck, did I say that out loud?”

 

“How did you know about the explosive?”

 

“I found it in the basement.” Taehyung said. “Wait, how did _you_ know about the explosive?”

 

Hyukjae bit his lips as if he was trying to decide if he wants to tell Taehyung or not. “Donghwa told me.”

 

“Donghwa?” Taehyung remembered that Hyukjae mentioned him on the previous day. “How does he know about this?”

 

“He’s part of the organization.” Hyukjae quickly explained Donghwa’s position. “He is also Donghae’s brother, but he didn’t want Donghae to know that he is alive.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He felt bad for causing Donghae to suffer.”

 

Taehyung wondered what happened to Donghae. “Wait, Hyukjae. When Donghae ran past me, I noticed that there is something blue in one of his eyes. I’m sure that he doesn’t have heterochromia…”

 

Hyukjae muttered a curse. “Shit…Someone could see his eyes.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Hyukjae faced him. “I guess at this point there is no way to hide anything anymore. Taehyung, since you know about the organization, you know what they are doing right? The experiments?”

 

“Yes…wait.” Taehyung said, his eyes slowly widened as realization dawned him. “Heterochromia…so Donghae is-”

 

“Yes. Donghae is Subject Beta.”

 

 _Holy shit. It’s him._ Taehyung knew something is special with Donghae, but it never occurred to him that Donghae was Subject Beta.

 

_Donghae is much more important than what I thought would be. I can’t afford for giving the organization a chance to find him._

 

“Taehyung, is there something wrong?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“The bomb…the one I found at the tower’s basement is to be set off at the time of the closing ceremony.”

 

“But that’s a bit less than 9 hours away, we have time.”

 

“I know, but there is a bigger problem.” Taehyung said. “I also found trails of gunpowder that runs deep into a cave system.”

 

“Oh fuck…so that’s where they hid the explosives.” Hyukjae muttered. “Donghwa said the organization had shipped a large number of explosives and gunpowder into the Resort a few days ago.”

 

Taehyung had to admit that Donghwa was a good source of information. He noted himself to ask Hyukjae for the other’s number once this was over. “If they hid it in the caves…”

 

“They could blow up the entire mountain with all these explosives.” Hyukjae confirmed his thought. “Oh, also.” He informed Taehyung about the different types of explosives and his idea of trigger points.

 

“I think you are right. The organization is planning something big. We need to get everyone out of here.” Taehyung said once he took in all of that. _I need to tell my superior about this too._

 

“It will be hard.” Hyukjae said. “My stylist said that the closing ceremony’s attendance is made mandatory. Are you sure the system is infected?”

 

“What?” Taehyung was confused. “I’m sure that they couldn’t change the settings when I infected the system.”

 

“But how could they change it to mandatory?”

 

“I don’t know…I guess we need to find Donghae before then.” Taehyung said. “Hyukjae, go attend all the events today, just in case that they figured it out and change the settings for all the events.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“The director already found me, so it’s likely that the Leader knew as well.” Taehyung muttered. “There is no point of me attending since my identity is revealed already. I will try to bring him back; can you keep check of the director’s location if he attends the events?”

 

“Okay.” They exchanged phone number before Hyukjae left to attend the first event of the day.

 

Taehyung stared at Hyukjae’s receding back. “Good luck, Hyukjae. I hope we all make it out of here alive.” He got up to change and prepare himself.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

The director was staring out the window of the observation deck. He watched the sky get cloudier, covering the sun.

 

_What a beautiful view._

 

He smiled to himself before he turned around and head towards the elevator. Although he hated to attend the events and forced to be seated with others, he wouldn’t want to miss the show.

 

The elevator opened with a ding. Before he could enter, someone pushed past him and walked briskly toward somewhere on the deck. The stranger was covering his eyes like he was crying.

 

He watched the man walk away. There was something about the silver-hair that looked familiar…

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_7:08:56_

 

Hyukjae was sitting anxiously in his chair. The first event had just finished but there was no response from Taehyung yet. He saw the director coming in but then he disappeared.

 

“Hyukjae? Is there something wrong? Where is Donghae?” Leeteuk asked. The others were there as well, and they all noticed that Hyukjae was tense and looking around the entire time. They were wait for the second one to start

 

“He’s sick.” Hyukjae simply said. “He’s sleeping right now.”

 

“Okay. Just tell us what’s wrong if anything else happens. We are really worried because you look very anxious right now” Leeteuk said, giving him a warm smile.

 

Hyukjae nodded. He was silent for a while because he didn’t know how to tell the others about the threat upon them.

 

“Guys…?” He said slowly.

 

The others stopped chatting and looked at him.

 

“Something will happen during the closing ceremony.”

 

“Yeah, the President’s speech.” Sungmin said.

 

“That’s not what I meant.” Hyukjae scoffed. “I mean that something really bad is going to happen.”

 

“Like what?” Kyuhyun asked.

 

“I can’t tell you exactly.” Hyukjae looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. “But I want to warn you guys and be prepared.”

 

“Hyukjae, what’s going on?” Leeteuk frowned. “First you looked worried, now you are telling us something bad will happen tonight.”

 

“I really can’t tell you guys, but please be careful.” Hyukjae pleaded. “Please trust me.”

 

The others were shocked by Hyukjae’s tone. “Okay Hyukjae, we will.” Siwon said. “Does Donghae know about this?”

 

“No, not yet. I will tell him later.”

 

Hyukjae looked around once more. It seems to be that the director really had left the room after the first event. He quickly whipped out his phone and texted a warning.

 

_Please Taehyung. Please find him soon._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_5:32:21_

 

Donghae sat by the window of the observation deck. He had cried so much that there were no more tears left in him. He stared at the floor, which was more of a giant screen that showed koi fishes swimming in a pond. The walls had the same as well. The sky was completely covered by grey clouds so that it looked even chillier, reflecting what he felt inside.

 

Emptiness. Coldness.

 

 _I should have never trusted him._ He thought bitterly.

 

The observation deck had quieted down a lot as people left to prepare for the evening events. Hyukjae was at least right about finding excuses to skip events, but Donghae still didn’t forgive him. Especially last night…

 

“Donghae? Is that you?”

 

He looked up when he heard the familiar voice and found Taehyung standing before him. Unlike the day before, Taehyung wore a black jumpsuit, which didn’t exactly match the dress code of the day.

 

“Taehyung? Why are you dressed like that?”

 

“Oh, thank god that I found you.” Taehyung muttered. “I’m wearing this because they might come soon.”

 

“Who?”

 

“The director and his subordinates.”

 

Donghae’s blood ran cold. “How did you know about them?”

 

Taehyung was quiet for a moment as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. “Donghae, please listen to what I have to say next. I was trying to find you…for Hyukjae.”

 

Donghae wanted to run away, but he was trapped between Taehyung and the glass.

 

Taehyung explained to him about the imminent threat and that the tower was not a safe place to stay. “Donghae…Hyukjae never meant to harm you.”

 

“But he lied to me.”

 

“For a good reason.” Taehyung said sadly. “It was your brother who asked him to keep his identity a secret from you. I bet that if your brother had not done that, Hyukjae would have told you immediately.”

 

“How would I know that if you aren’t lying then?”

 

“I’m a victim of the organization too.” Taehyung said, Donghae could detect something dangerous behind his voice. “My life was ruined by them. I know how it felt, Donghae. I know the pain and suffering that you went through because I saw them personally myself elsewhere.”

 

Donghae stared at him. There was nothing but sympathy in the other’s dark eyes. Either Taehyung was telling the truth or was a really good liar. Donghae decided that for a moment of comfort, he would choose the former.

 

“I know that I’m not the right person to make you believe everything, but you should at least apologize to Hyukjae. When I saw him earlier, he was in complete distraught. Hyukjae looked like a madman when he ran up to me. He said that he was really sorry that he lied to you and wished that you would come back. I don’t know what you said to him Donghae, but he looked really hurt.”

 

Donghae stared at the koi fish that was swimming underneath him, remembering his words before when he ran away. _So Hyukjae truly loves me?_

 

“I may not know about what exactly happened between you two, but I know for sure that Hyukjae genuinely loves you, maybe even more than himself. There was no lies underneath that. Please Donghae, go back to Hyukjae. You all need to get out of the Resort as soon as possible.”

 

Donghae slowly got up but he kept staring at the ground. He began to feel guilty for saying all those harsh things to Hyukjae, and knowing that Hyukjae was so desperate to find him made it even worse. “I’ll talk to him…but I’m still scared that I would be taken back…”

 

Taehyung gave him a small smile. “You won’t, you got both me and Hyukjae. You will be-”

 

He stopped talking and walked up to the glass.

 

“Taehyung, what’s wrong?” Donghae asked.

 

Taehyung pointed down.

 

The remaining guests slowly filtered out of the base of the tower, but what was more nerve-wrecking was the ring of people wearing heavily-armed uniforms surrounding the base. A man in a white suit was standing at the front entrance with one hand by his ear, calling someone.

 

Although Donghae could not see his face, he knew that those all-too-familiar green reptilian eyes were narrowing with a smirk.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

_2:19:26_

 

“Did they leave the tower yet?” Donghwa asked Hyukjae over the phone.

 

“No, I didn’t get any messages.” Hyukjae replied. The second event was over and he just finished having dinner with the others. Hyukjae had excused himself to the washroom in order to talk to Donghwa.

 

“They need to hurry. From what you told me, the bombs will set off in less than two and a half hours.”

 

“What about the other guests? There are hundreds of them here.”

 

“I don’t know, I will try to find some ways to inform the police. We can’t just announce the presence of explosives without causing mass panic.”

 

“Hope they will get here in time.” Hyukjae muttered. Suddenly, his other phone started to ring. “Taehyung called. I will talk to you later.”

 

He hung up and picked up the other phone. “Taehyung, finally! I was worried sick-”

 

“Hyukjae.” Taehyung’s grim voice made his heart drop. “I need your help”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae watched Taehyung calling Hyukjae to come and help them. The director and his guards didn’t move for the past three hours or so. They didn’t make a move to either enter or leave. The screens had gone dark after the closing hour, but Donghae and Taehyung managed to avoid the staffs that were closing down the place.

 

“They want me.” Taehyung said on the line. “I am their target.”

 

“What is your involvement with the organization, Taehyung?” Donghae could hear Hyukjae’s voice.

 

 _What is Taehyung’s involvement?_ He wondered to himself as well.

 

“I’ll tell you when it's a better time, but right now I need your help. I will go down and confront them, while you come up here and pick Donghae up. Run away as far as possible because I don’t know how big the aftermath is going to be.”

 

“Are you crazy? How are you going to be able to hold them down?”

 

“I can do it. I can buy you guys enough time. Please hurry, Hyukjae.”

 

“But the alarm-”

 

“Fuck the alarm, Hyukjae! The entire mountain is going to blow! Everyone is going to be running away anyways, and I’m sure the organization is focusing on something more important rather than the attendance.”

 

Taehyung hung up before Hyukjae could protest.

 

“What are you going to do, Taehyung?”

 

“Something incredibly dumb and dangerous. Stay here while I take care of things, okay? We can’t afford for you to get kidnapped.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

 _Fuck._ Hyukjae thought to himself. He knew Taehyung was right. If the explosion starts, everyone would be running away from the hall and he won’t be the only one to set off the alarm.

 

“Guys, I need to go.” Hyukjae whispered when he ran back to his table. “I need to get Donghae.”

 

Leeteuk nodded. “Stay safe. We will do what you asked when something happens.”

 

“Wait, what? What’s going on, Hyuk?” Heechul asked. He had joined them for the dinner and the closing ceremony.

 

“The others will explain, Heechul, but I have to go.” He ran outside and followed the road towards the illuminated tower. The winds were frigid and sharp against his face and the dark clouds had covered the red moon.

 

He called Taehyung again once he got closer. He could see the silhouettes of the guards. However, there was no signs of the director. “Taehyung, I’m here. What are you going to do?”

 

“Watch.”

 

The line went dead.

 

_I wish he would answer me before he hangs up next time._

 

There was a sudden sound of breaking glass and Hyukjae looked up. He saw Taehyung falling in the air, diving straight at one of the guards. The guard barely had a second to look up before he crashed on to the ground. Hyukjae winced at the sound of cracking bones.

 

The other guards closed in on Taehyung, but the younger man was quick to roll off the crumpled body and avoided the bullets. He pulled out two knives from his belt and slashed at the two nearest guards at an unbelievable speed.

 

As Hyukjae watched behind a tree. Taehyung took down the guards one by one until there were only two left. One of them charged and Taehyung did the same. However, he slipped on a patch of ice and the guard grabbed him by the throat. The other raised his gun, ready to shoot.

 

“No!” Hyukjae screamed and ran towards them. The guard that was holding Taehyung only had the time to turn and see Hyukjae landing a hard kick on his knee. He howled in pain and dropped Taehyung, causing the shot to miss.

 

Taehyung subdued the other while Hyukjae knocked the guy in front of him unconscious. “Things went better than I thought. I didn’t know that you know taekwondo.” Taehyung chuckled as he retrieved his knives. “Thanks.”

 

“Black belt.” Hyukjae replied. “How did you move so fast? And how did you not break any bones when you landed?”

 

“I’m trained for such occasions.” Taehyung winked. “Come on, let’s go get Donghae. We need to hurry, I’m sure that the director would be back with more people.”

 

“Where did he go?”

 

“I think he may have left to go back to the President’s Hall for the ceremony. Why? You didn’t see him along the way”

 

“I didn’t see him.” Hyukjae said as they waited for the elevator to come. “It’s just strange that he would leave instead of waiting for you to come out. By the way, how did you operate the elevator? I thought the tower is closed at this hour.”

 

“I can hack an entire security system, remember? This is nothing.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae shivered a little from the cold air that was blasting through the opening which Taehyung made when he jumped. He watched Taehyung and Hyukjae fought off the guards with both admiration and fear.

 

Donghae then saw the two walking into the base of the tower. _They are coming up now._

 

He waited a few minutes to hear the elevator opened with a chime. Donghae saw Hyukjae rushed out and plowed right into him. His eyes widened when he felt Hyukjae started to sob.

 

“D-Donghae, I’m sorry.” Hyukjae said. “I’m so sorry that I lied to you. Please don’t run away again.”

 

Taehyung walked away to the windows and checked for any approaching people on the ground, giving them a little space.

 

“I didn’t want to lie to you in the beginning, but it’s your brother’s request…He said that it will hurt both you and him if you two meets. All I wanted is to keep you safe because you were so frail and helpless.”

 

Donghae didn’t say anything, but his tears started to pool in his eyes.

 

“I lied to you about many things, Donghae. But I never lied that I really love you. I love you so much because I never felt happier in the past week than I had in a long time. You brought back my real smile, Hae.”

 

Donghae thought back to the week he had spent with the other. Other than comforting him, Hyukjae had shown his own vulnerable side to Donghae. They relied on each other to stop crying because of their pasts.

 

He was stupid to say that Hyukjae was playing with him. If Hyukjae was going to betray him, he would have never told Donghae his pains.

 

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Hyukjae. “Hyukjae, please stop crying.” He said while patting the other’s back. “I’m sorry that I ran away before I let you explain everything. And…I’m so sorry that I said those harsh things. Just please don’t lie to me again, it hurts a lot.”

 

Hyukjae gradually calmed down in Donghae’s arms. He lifted his head a little to look at him. “May I?”

 

Donghae nodded and Hyukjae leaned in to give him a kiss. He felt himself warming up in the chilly air. “I was so worried about you getting caught. Please don’t leave ever again.”

 

“I won’t.” Donghae said and kissed him back. “By the way…You said Donghwa didn’t want to see me?”

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Yes, because he…he said that he was partially responsible for your kidnapping five years ago.”

 

“What?” Donghae was confused. “Why would he do such a thing?”

 

“I don’t know, but he said he was forced to. I think it’s better for you to ask him yourself when we get out of here.” Hyukjae said before he added. “When you are ready to talk to him, of course.”

 

“Hey, guys. I hate to interrupt,” Taehyung suddenly said. “but we got company.”

 

Donghae and Hyukjae ran towards the glass and looked down. Around the base, more guards had gathered. Donghae counted there was at least fifty.

 

“Oh, shit.” Donghae cursed.

 

“I can’t fight that many at the same time.” Taehyung said.

 

“But why did they stop?” Hyukjae said. “Why didn’t they come up? We are cornered anyways.”

 

“Cornered…” Taehyung muttered. “Do you guys think they want to trap us up here for a reason?”

 

“Well, since they only knew your presence, I think they want to keep _you_ up here.” Hyukjae said. “Perhaps wanting you to be kept away from somewhere?”

 

“That might be true, but keep me away from what exactly? The bomb? We got about an hour and a half before the one below us goes off. Donghae, you didn’t see where the director went right?”

 

“Yeah, he walked down the path that led to the President’s Hall. Hyuk, you didn’t bump into him?”

 

“No, he must have arrived and sat at one of those balconies before I left.”

 

All of a sudden, the screens on the floor and walls lit up, but it was not a moving image of a pond of koi fish.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

The director had finished setting up the camera. “Sir, we will be rolling in about two minutes.”

 

 _This show is going to be amazing._ He thought to himself.

 

The Leader, who sat beside him lazily, replied. “Ready for the fun?”

 

“Oh, yes. I have been ready for almost thirty years, Sir.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

The screen showed the stage at the President’s Hall. It focused on the President, who was giving a speech.

 

“What’s going on?” Hyukjae asked.

 

Before either of the other two could reply, a voice came over from the feed.

 

“People of Korea, welcome to my show.” The velvety voice was soft as the twilight.

 

“The Lunar Celebration had gained so much attention for the past 50 hours. However, it is nothing comparing to what I am about to show you all.”

 

The blood moon peeked out a little from a small opening in between the dark clouds.

 

“Tonight, with the last viewing of the blood moon, a new world shall begin to emerge. I will gift you all with a new kingdom.”

 

“Please, enjoy the fireworks of the celebration for a new era of the human race.”

 

_BANG._

 

A gunshot rang out, but it wasn’t from the tower. It was from the video feed.

 

Time seemed to slow down as the succeeding silence engulfs the hall as well as the trio.

 

As Hyukjae watched in horror, a pool of blood bloomed like a flower from the silk dress shirt of the President, right over where the heart would be. The President’s eyes widened as the light from those irises slowly faded. Then, as if in slow motion, he fell backward onto the ground with a soft thud.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Let's see how things go in the future.
> 
> Sorry again for the delay!
> 
> Next Chapter: June 15/16
> 
> I also opened a Twitter account recently! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123
> 
> This story is now also available on [AFF](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1346018/thy-kingdom-come-angst-donghae-eunhae-eunhyuk-fluff-hyukjae-hyukhae)
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


	10. Chapter 9: Fallen Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Only thing I can do is run. Only thing I can do is love you.”

Donghae stood there, stunned.

 

 _This can’t be happening._ He chanted in his head.

 

The feed was still silent after the gunshot. It had moved and zoomed to focus on the dead body on the ground. Blood was still flowing and staining the white dress shirt, dominating the screen and turning the floor underneath the trio red.

 

The three stared frozen at the deafening silent screen until a piercing scream was heard. Soon the scream was joined by the others, filling in the empty air. Donghae could see people started to push each other in order to run toward the exit. The dissonant sound continued until the video feed was cut off. They were engulfed by darkness again.

 

Donghae turned to look at the other two. Both of them had the identical face of shock and fear like him.

 

“Did the President just got…assassinated?” He whispered out.

 

The others didn’t respond right away. “We need to leave. Now.” Taehyung said.

 

“But how? There’s no way that we could defeat that many guards down there.” Hyukjae said.

 

“I could help.” Donghae volunteered.

 

Taehyung shook his head. “You can’t, Donghae. If you start to use your ability, you will be exposed immediately. We couldn’t afford you to get taken away.”

 

“But you will die!” Donghae insisted. “We need to get rid of them quickly, there’s only about an hour left before the bomb goes off!”

 

“I think I might be able to manage if I go all out.” Taehyung’s expression was grim. “Although it’s not ideal, it’s the only way. Hyukjae, stay here and look after Donghae.”

 

_All out?_

 

Hyukjae looked conflicted. “Are you sure, Taehyung? What do you mean by ‘all out’?”

 

Taehyung gave them a bitter smile. He moved his hand to his eyes. “You know, Donghae, why I said that I know how you feel about being a subject of their cruel experiments?”

 

As Donghae watched, Taehyung removed a contact lens from his left eye. His felt his heart stopped when he saw the swirling color.

 

“I was part of that, Donghae.” Taehyung said. “I was a subject of the first phase. I managed to escape during an incident that destroyed that lab where I was kept in.”

 

“So yes, I do have telekinesis similar to Donghae.” He continued. “However, it is not very strong, but it should be enough for me to deal with those people on the ground.”

 

“Taehyung-”

 

Taehyung walked towards the opening that he created earlier that day. He turned around and gave them a smile. “Wish me luck!”

 

With that, Donghae watched Taehyung leaned back and fell into the open air.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae scrambled to the edge and looked down. Like before, Taehyung had dropped down on one of the guards and started to attack the others with his knives. However, his movements were much faster and Hyukjae struggled to keep up with the blur.

 

Taehyung was doing pretty well up until there were about half of the guards left standing. Hyukjae noticed that his slashes and kicks were slowing down. _He’s running out of energy._

 

Just then, one of the guards dropped his gun and pulled out a much larger weapon.

 

_A grenade launcher?_

 

The guy shot it at Taehyung, but the other was quick enough to dodge it. The grenade landed on the front steps of the tower and exploded. Hyukjae could feel the rocking from his feet as the vibration travelled upward to the observation deck.

 

“What is that guy doing?” Donghae hissed. “He could bring down the entire tower! Or worse, trigger the bomb before the time runs out!”

 

Right after he stopped talking, a second _boom_ rocked the building. Hyukjae could see the side of the tower started to crack. The LED lights flickered from the impact.

 

“Donghae, we need to go down. We can’t stay here or else we will fall to our deaths.” Hyukjae said.”

 

“And get noticed by the guards?”

 

“We can hide in the lobby. Come on, let’s go.” He ran towards the elevator, with Donghae following behind him. However, a third grenade exploded and the elevator light went dark.

 

“Damn it!” Hyukjae cursed.

 

Just then, Hyukjae heard faint cracking sounds and noticed that the floor started to tilt. He looked up and saw the ceiling started to break apart. A huge piece of plaster peeled off and started to fall, along with some of the steel beams that supported the structure.

 

Right above Donghae.

 

“Donghae!” Hyukjae screamed. Without thinking, he pushed Donghae away. He felt the debris made its impact on his head. The last thing he remembered was the piercing pain and the horrified look on Donghae’s face before everything went dark.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Guys!” Leeteuk shouted. “We need to stay together!”

 

They managed to get out of the hall and leave the front doors, surrounded by frightened people who gathered around and trying to call their bodyguards or some sort. All hell had broken loose after the shot and the group was struggling to stay together.

 

“Hyukjae knew something about this.” Siwon said. “He warned us.”

 

“But why won’t he just tell us the whole thing?” Kyuhyun yelled over the screams.

 

“I think he would, but he didn’t know what will happen _exactly_.” Sungmin hypothesized. “He must have heard about something will happen here.”

 

“Well, whatever the case is, we need to leave.” Heechul said. “You guys said we need to get away from not just the building, but the whole Resort, right? My poor high heels…”

 

“Heechul, Hyukjae told us to leave the entire premise, which probably means some other things well happen as well.” Siwon scowled. “Your ugly heels would be the least of your problems, just toss them away here and we will run.”

 

“How dare you disrespect my heels? They are freaking Gucci and cost me millions of won! Also, we will definitely _not_ run barefooted down the mountain, my pedicure would be ruined.”

 

“Guys stop arguing!” Leeteuk said. _Think, Leeteuk, think…_

 

“Heechul’s right, there’s no way we are running down the mountain. Not because of our toenails,” He said calmly. “but we could get injured from the slippery ice or get hypothermia since we left our winter jackets back inside the hall.”

 

“So what do you suggest?” Sungmin asked.

 

“The cart.” Leeteuk pointed to the side of the building. There were several parked carts that were used to transport guests around the area. “Those carts do not require a key to operate. We could get down to the foot of the mountain faster so there is a smaller chance of getting hypothermia. For extra measure, let’s take the subway to get further away.”

 

The others were silent as they digested his plan. “Well, we don’t really have a choice. Let’s go.” Siwon said.

 

“I’m driving!” Kyuhyun ran to the driver’s seat.

 

“Okay, Kyu, but don’t go crazy. This is not GTA V.” Sungmin said as he sat in the shotgun. “I would like to get out of here. Alive.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry, Min. Trust me, at a time like this, I would like to stay alive to be able to get home and play my games.” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. When everyone was ready, he pressed on the gas pedal and zoomed down the mountainside.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae almost screamed in horror when one of the steel beams hit Hyukjae’s head. He immediately rushed over to check on the fallen body. The screen floor around him had shattered into shards of glass. Hyukjae’s forehead was swollen and had a nasty cut where blood poured out in a stream.

 

 _No, no no no no no._ Donghae was panicking and quickly checked his pulse. He sighed in relief when he felt the weak pumping on the black-hair’s neck.

 

_But he’s knocked out cold. The elevator is not working as well._

 

Donghae felt the floor began to tilt even more. Random objects started to slide towards the broken window.

 

_There’s got to be a way down._

 

However, he didn’t see any other options than jumping out through the opening. Donghae could try to slow his fall, but that didn’t work out very well last time. The observation deck was much higher than five floors and Donghae had to carry Hyukjae as well.

 

The entire tower groaned as it tilted even more. Even though Donghae didn’t study architecture, but he knew the tower was approaching the limit before it will crash down on the mountain side. He needed to decide fast and get help to treat Hyukjae’s injury.

 

_I need to jump._

 

Before he could scold himself for being a crazy idiot, he picked up Hyukjae and leapt into the air. He closed his eyes and willed himself to slow down like his act a week ago. The effort was much more challenging with Hyukjae’s weight, but Donghae didn’t give up. He concentrated on the air molecules around him to move more sluggishly so that it will slow their fall even more. He didn’t even fall for a few seconds and his brain was starting to get fuzzy.

 

_Come on, Lee Donghae. Do it for Hyukjae._

 

Every single neuron within him was screaming with exhaustion and pain, but Donghae held on to his effort. He didn’t break his concentration until he felt his feet touching the icy ground. Donghae almost dropped Hyukjae from the rush of nausea and exhaustion, but he couldn’t afford to pass out at that moment. He gently placed Hyukjae at the foot of a tree and tried to wipe away some of the blood from the forehead. His vision was so blurred that he could only distinguish the white snow against the fiery explosions. Closing his eyes and took some deep breaths, he fought down his feeling to throw up and looked around.

 

Donghae managed to land in the trees at the back of the tower. He could clearly see the fight between Taehyung and the guards, and it was not going very well. There were less than ten guards standing, but Taehyung looked exhausted. He was no longer moving around in a blur and his attacks were getting sluggish.

 

“Taehyung.” He whispered. At his state, it was impossible for Donghae to fight, but he needed to help Taehyung somehow. He couldn’t leave Hyukjae alone there as well.

 

Instead, he focused on the snow around him. Instantly, a ring of snow rose out and compacted into firm snowballs. Donghae was glad that the snow was almost weightless because he wouldn’t be able to handle anything heavier than a pillow. When he was sure that the snowball was hard enough, he flung them at the guards as hard as he could. Donghae knew that compact snowballs would hurt like hell because he used to play in the snow when he was a kid, yet he was surprised that such knowledge could be useful in this situation two decades later.

 

The enemies barely had time to register what happened to them before they were hit in the head by the high-speed snowballs. All of them dropped their weapons in pain and Taehyung used the distraction to take out three more. He then threw his knifes at two more before pulling a gun that was dropped from the enemy to eliminate the rest. Panting harshly, he looked around and found Donghae and Hyukjae.

 

“Donghae? Did you throw those snowballs? Why do you have blood on you? How did you-Oh my god, Hyukjae!” Taehyung quickly ran towards them when he saw the unconscious body.

 

“He saved me from getting hit by the falling debris. I managed to jump from the deck above and use my telekinesis to not fall to our deaths.” Donghae quickly explained. His dizziness was slowly fading and he could see better. He could distinguish the blood that was still pouring out of Hyukjae’s head, staining the snow around him red.

 

Taehyung bent down and inspected the wound. “He got a really bad concussion, but nothing seems to be broken.” He said. “The loss of blood is normal. Head wounds tend to bleed the most because there are so many blood vessels.”

 

“How can we stop the bleeding?”

 

“Leather isn’t exactly a good choice, so…would you mind if you tear off a piece from your sleeves?” Taehyung pointed at Donghae’s cotton sweater.

 

Donghae nodded and tore off a strip. Taehyung gently washed some blood away from the wound with some snow and bandaged it up with Donghae’s sleeves. “This will do for now. I will patch it up better when we get out.”

 

“How? Both you and I are worn out from using our telekinesis. We don’t have time to just walk down the mountain!”

 

“I’m sure there is a faster way. Come on, we need to start walking. I think the tower is about to fall soon as well.” Taehyung pointed up. Donghae could see there were more cracks forming and the top was tilting almost at a 45-degree angle.

 

They carried Hyukjae on their shoulders and started walking down the path. Just then, Donghae heard the familiar voice calling out to him.

 

“Donghae!”

 

He turned and saw a cart approaching them. “Kyuhyun! Here!”

 

Kyuhyun parked the cart beside them. “Are you alright? What happened to Hyukjae? And who is this?”

 

“I’m fine, but Hyukjae got hit in the head by a debris.” Donghae said as he helped Sungmin and Leeteuk carry Hyukjae on to the cart. “Oh, and this is Taehyung. He’s a friend who helped us.”

 

“Hi.” Taehyung waved. “Why do you guys look so…green?”

 

“Kyuhyun drives like a maniac.” Sungmin muttered. “I told you it’s not one of your games!”

 

“Sorry not sorry.”

 

“Mind if we start going?” Taehyung said. “The tower is about to fall and there is…less than half an hour before the explosion starts.”

 

“Explosion?!”

 

“Yeah, sorry that I dropped a bomb on you guys. No pun intended.”

 

Kyuhyun snickered. “I like this guy. Remind me to keep in touch with you after we get out of here.”

 

“Kyuhyun, we have to go. Now!” Donghae pointed up. The cracking sound above them had intensified. Donghae and Taehyung quickly grabbed hold on Hyukjae’s unconscious body as Kyuhyun stepped on the gas and drove just as the tower began to collapse. They watched the debris crashed down on the side of the mountain with a thunderous _boom_.

 

“The grenade launcher was really unnecessary.” Taehyung muttered.

 

Leeteuk raised an eyebrow. “Grenade launcher? And how did you know that there will be a bomb going off soon?”

 

“Long story.”

 

Just then, another loud sound interrupted their conversation. Flames and smoke rose out from a distance not too far away. “The President’s Hall.” Siwon said.

 

“Oh crap.” Sungmin cursed. “I hope no one got injured.”

 

“Everyone escaped right?” Donghae asked. “I saw it happen on a screen.”

 

“I think so, everyone including the staff ran out after the gunshot.”

 

They made their way to the Zenith before a third  _boom_ rocked the cement under them. This time it was somewhere in front of the cart.

 

“Kyuhyun, stop!”

 

Kyuhyun immediately stepped on the brake, causing everyone to lurch forward. Before them, a crater made by the second explosion blocked their path.

 

“Shit, that’s the only way down.” Heechul said.

 

“What do we do?” Siwon panicked.

 

Kyuhyun looked at a directory sign beside them. “Shortcut time.”

 

“What-”

 

Kyuhyun started driving straight towards the forest surrounding the Zenith.

 

“Kyu, are you crazy?” Sungmin yelled as they hit the uneven surface.

 

“Shut up, I know what I am doing!”

 

 _Boom._ Donghae could see some trees in the distance engulfed in flames.

 

“I thought you said we have thirty minutes!” Kyuhyun yelled at Taehyung.

 

“The one at the tower does.”

 

Kyuhyun cursed even more as they reached the elevator tracks.

 

“What will happen to the others?” Siwon asked worriedly.

 

“Well, assuming they didn’t get caught in the first explosion…they could go around the crater.” Leeteuk muttered. “Hopefully they are smart enough to run down the mountain.”

 

Another explosion occurred when they reached the flower field. The camellia flowers on the far side erupted in flames. The fire spread quickly, engulfing more flowers and trees.

 

Donghae’s eyes widened at the familiar image. His grip on Hyukjae tightened.

 

“Kyu, what’s your plan?” Sungmin hissed as they made it past the clearing.

 

“Like I said, shortcut.” Kyuhyun replied. Suddenly, the floor gave away and they were freefalling down the side of a cliff.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“What do you mean that he escaped?!” The director yelled into his phone.

 

“S-Sir, we didn’t receive any news from the execution squad and we went to check. The tower has collapsed but there were no signs of his corpse.”

 

“God freaking damn it!” He threw his phone out of the window of the helicopter. The small device fell and smashed into a billion pieces against the mountain.

 

“Was that really necessary?” The Leader asked beside him.

 

The director huffed. “No, but I thought I could get rid of him once and for all.”

 

“Why do you want him dead so badly? The plan is going smoothly, he will die anyways later.”

 

“I want him dead _at this instance_. You said my actions are reckless and could interfere with your plan. Speaking of which, you won’t even tell me your full plan.”

 

“Your actions are indeed reckless. Why did you equip them with a grenade launcher? That was no need to destroy the tower.” The Leader said with a smooth voice. “Also, I did apologize many times that I can’t tell you, my dear old friend. It is necessary to prevent any moles in our organization. Although, I owe you so much for what I am doing right now. Your effort is greatly appreciated.”

 

The director sighed. “Whatever. Do what you need to do, I am tired of waiting.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae hated the weightless feeling. This was the second time that he fell over a hundred meters that day. He was aware of the others screaming around them as they dropped from the cliff, but he was focused on trying to keep Hyukjae from falling out of the cart.

 

They hit a small slope and managed to change their velocity from downwards to somewhat horizontal. The impact was not pleasant and Donghae’s nose hit the seat in front of him from the momentum. Scrunching his nose from the pain, he checked on Hyukjae beside him to see if his already injured head hit anywhere.

 

“Cho Kyuhyun, are you fucking insane?!” Sungmin yelled from the shotgun. Kyuhyun managed to not crash and continue down the road. “We could have died back there, you crazy mother-”

 

“Love you too!” Kyuhyun said while doing a drift on a tight turn.

 

Thankfully, the massive gates were right there after the turn. Heechul immediately got off the cart after it stopped and threw up.

 

“Alright, everyone.” Leeteuk said, his face was very green as well. “Let’s get to the subway station, it’s not very far from here. Donghae, what happened to your nose?”

 

“What?” Donghae asked as he brushed his hand on his face, feeling something wet and sticky. “Oh, must have been the fall. I hit my nose on the seat.”

 

“Sorry.” Kyuhyun apologized. “Good thing that it doesn’t look broken.”

 

“Keep moving, guys.” Sungmin suggested.

 

Donghae spot the stairwell as soon as he carried Hyukjae past the gates. Strangely, there was not a single security guard in place.

 

“Where are the guards?” Taehyung wondered.

 

“Who cares. Let’s just get away from this place as far as we could.” Heechul said as he walked down the stairs.

 

Siwon pulled out his wallet and got everyone their tickets. The unconscious, bloody Hyukjae was attracting some curious gazes from strangers as they got on to the subway. Thankfully, there weren’t many people taking the subway late at night so that Donghae could lay Hyukjae down on the seats.

 

Donghae looked down at the bandaged face. He couldn’t help but feel guilty of the state that Hyukjae was in. _If only I had stayed and listened to him, not ran away to the top of the tower_ …

 

The tunnel that they were in gave away to a bridge over the Han River. Donghae could see the Resort from the window. He could see the raging fire on the top of the mountain, illuminating the dark clouds. A bright orange ball of fire suddenly rose out of where the N Seoul Tower used to be, followed by a series of explosion elsewhere on the mountain.

 

The group was silent while the other passengers started to take pictures and videos of the mountain. “I think we’ve had enough for a day.” Leeteuk finally said. “Let’s go home, it will be a long day tomorrow when the entire country finds out what happened. Should we bring Hyukjae to the hospital?”

 

“No.” Taehyung said. “His injuries could heal without intensive care. And…I think Donghae would like to spend some time with him.”

 

They all looked at the silver-hair, whose head was hanging down with his finger gently brushing the unconscious face.

 

“Very well then.” Leeteuk said as they reached a station after crossing the bridge. “I need to transfer to another line here. I will call the head of the hospital that Hyukjae won’t come to work tomorrow.”

 

“I will call Sora as well.” Heechul said. “She will bring some food over to Hyukjae's place and help tend the injury.”

 

One by one, the others said goodbye as they reached their stops to get off. The subway was empty except Taehyung, Donghae, and Hyukjae. Taehyung helped Donghae carry Hyukjae out of the station and towards their apartment. Donghae found the key in Hyukjae’s pocket and opened the door to their floor. They carefully laid Hyukjae on the bed and Taehyung managed to find a first-aid kit in the closet. He removed the bloody cloth and washed the wound with a wet towel before patching it with gauze.

 

“There, he should be awake by tomorrow or the following day.” Taehyung said.

 

“Thank you, Taehyung. You really did a lot for us today.” Donghae gave him a tired smile.

 

“No problem. You guys needed help, especially that you two would become a big target if the organization discovers your identity.” He said. “Also, don’t blame yourself too much, Donghae. I could tell from your expression back on the ride here.”

 

Donghae was silent as he dropped his head.

 

Taehyung sighed and grabbed a piece of paper and pen nearby. “Talk to him when he wakes up, Donghae. You two didn’t have much time to talk back in the tower. If you need anything, call me.” He said as he scribbled his number on the paper. “I’ll get going now. You need to rest after using your telekinesis.”

 

“Okay. See you later Taehyung.” Donghae said and gave the other a hug. “I will look forward to see how your new song do on the music charts.”

 

Taehyung chuckled. “Thanks, my dear fan.” and he left.

 

Donghae turned his attention to the body on the bed. Hyukjae’s breathing was shallow but regular, his hands were folded peacefully over his chest.

 

Donghae managed to get Hyukjae out of the dirty clothes and tried to clean the other with a wet towel. He ripped through the closet and found a simple white t-shirt and pajama pants that he dressed Hyukjae with.

 

Donghae then stripped himself of the clothes and piled their dirty clothes together on the floor of the shower. He found a lighter in the kitchen and set the clothes on fire, not wanting any reminder of the horrible events that happened just over an hour ago. After he washed away the ashes, he took a shower to wash away the dirt, blood, and sweat on him.

 

By the time that he dressed himself to bed, he was beyond exhaustion. The whole experience that day was way too much on his body. Donghae tucked Hyukjae into bed before he did the same with himself until a sound came from the nightstand.

 

Donghae quickly got up and found the small black phone ringing. It was the phone that he took out from Hyukjae’s pocket before burning the clothing. The number on the screen shows an unknown caller.

 

He picked up the phone and the person on the other end began to speak. “Hyukjae, are you alright?”

 

Donghae froze.

 

“I heard from Leeteuk that you were injured and unconscious while escaping the Resort. Thank goodness that you are awake-”

 

Donghae took a deep breath and spoke.

 

“Hello, brother.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hello, brother.”

 

Donghwa nearly dropped his phone. He was not expecting the familiar voice on the other end.

 

It took all of his effort to not cry at that moment.

 

“D-Donghae?”

 

“It’s nice to hear you again. Hyukjae’s still unconscious but I am taking care of him. We will talk…sooner or later.”

 

The line went dead.

 

Donghwa placed his phone on the table and buried his face in his hands.

 

_What do I do? What should I do, Father?_

_I still don’t have the heart to tell him_.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae placed the phone back on to the nightstand. He was trying to control his own breathing.

 

_Should I be happy? Sad? Angry? Disappointed?_

 

He honestly doesn’t know anymore. Donghae thought he would be at peace when he ran away from the facility and live with Hyukjae, but there were so many things happening and so many new mysteries appearing every passing day.

 

_Why is Donghwa avoiding me?_

_How much more does my own brother know about my experiments?_

_What else is there about Taehyung and Subject Alpha?_

_Just how many more things that I still don’t have a clue about?_

_And do I want to know all of them?_

 

Donghae shook his head. All of these questions were too much for him already. He looked outside and could see the entire Resort engulfed in flames. As he watched, the mountain collapsed, sending more flames and ashes into the sky.

 

 _Burnt camellia flowers, sky of dark ashes, the white room_...

 

He gritted his teeth and slid the curtains shut, not wanting to have any more chaotic thoughts at the moment. He tried to clear his mind from the chaotic thoughts and instead focused on the resting body beside him. The only person who could calm him down.

 

He scooted closer to the warm body and hugged him with his dear life. Donghae noticed that the scent of cologne was gone. After several days of not using any cologne, Hyukjae’s scent was actually a sweet smell of strawberries.

 

“We have a lot to talk about.” Donghae whispered, trailing the other’s outline with his fingertips.

 

“You hurt me, I hurt you…it’s a pointless thing and now we ended up like this. You injured and me hurting on the inside.”

 

“I really do love you Hyukjae…It hurts for me to see you like this. Please don’t hate me for causing you to get injured when you wake up.”

 

“I hope we could start off our relationship properly this time.”

 

Donghae gently kissed the other’s plump lips. He breathed in the strawberry scent and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically this chapter was nothing but explosions *Cue Seventeen "Boom Boom"*
> 
> I opened a Twitter account recently! If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up at: @tateatae123
> 
> This story is now also available on AFF
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


	11. Chapter 10: Longing Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I want to forget about the darkness and loneliness, with you."

Donghae slowly opened his eyes next morning and found himself having an arm around Hyukjae. The sky outside was dark grey with stormy clouds, carried by the gusting winds. It was already approaching noon and Donghae felt very hungry the moment he got off the bed. His mind was still a little dizzy from using so much of his telekinesis during their escape.

 

He walked over to the other side and checked on Hyukjae’s wound. Slowly unwrapping the cloth, Donghae could see that the wound had reduced to a nasty scar across the forehead. However, when he brushed his fingers across the scar, his eyes widened when he felt the burning skin. _He must have caught a fever when we were escaping._

 

Donghae started to rummage through the bedroom to see if Hyukjae stocked up on any medicines when the doorbell rang. He tried to fix his bed hair before opening the door to find two people standing there. They were both carrying a bag in their hands.

 

“Hello, Donghae. It’s nice to see you again. Mind if we come in?” Sora said with a smile. “How are you?”

 

“Hi Sora.” Donghae smiled back. “I’m feeling better than…you know, last night.”

 

Sora’s smile fell. “Yes, I heard about what happened from Heechul. I’m glad that you two made it out safe and sound.”

 

Donghae felt a pang in his heart. Sora said “you two”, which means that she cares for him like Hyukjae. _Yet I was the one who caused Hyukjae’s injury…_

 

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you to my husband.” Sora said, pointing to the chubby man behind her. “Donghae, this is Shindong.”

 

“Hey there.” Shindong gave him a warm smile on his round face. “I heard that you are taking care of Hyukjae?”

 

“Y-yeah. He is still unconscious but his wound is looking better. However, he had developed a fever.” Donghae said.

 

“Good thing that I brought over some medicines.” Sora said. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

 

“No, I just woke up a little while ago and checked on Hyukjae.”

 

“Alright. You can go do your morning routine, I will check on Hyukjae and Shindong can fix you something to eat with the food we brought. He’s a great cook.”

 

Donghae went to the washroom to clean himself up for the day. When he got out, Sora was crouching beside Hyukjae and applying some ointment on the scar. “Sora, would you like me to bring a chair?”

 

“That would be lovely, Donghae. Actually, bring two chairs, I want to talk to you about something.”

 

Donghae grabbed two foldable chairs from the storage closet and placed them beside the bed. “Donghae, can you tell me about how Hyukjae got his injury? Heechul didn’t exactly say much.”

 

“It started with an argument because Hyukjae kept something away from me knowing.” Donghae lowered his head as the wave of guilt washed over him. He told Sora what happened on the day before, but leaving out the specific details of the organization, as well as him and Taehyung being able to use telekinesis.

 

Both him and Sora were silent when he finished talking. He looked at the man resting on the bed, lost in thought.

 

“Donghae.” He turned to look at the woman in front of him. “Do you feel guilty?”

 

“It’s all my fault.” Donghae whispered, tears were welling in his eyes. “if I didn’t run away, this wouldn’t happen.”

 

“Oh, Donghae.” Sora said softly as she leaned forward a little to brush away some tears with her thumb. Donghae wanted to cry even more because Hyukjae did the same gesture whenever the silver-hair cried. He missed it so much. In fact, he missed Hyukjae’s comfort all together. “Donghae, please look at me.”

 

“I understand how you feel and why you reacted that way when you found out. Hyukjae is that type of person who would keep quiet on stuff that he doesn’t like, even from me and our parents. He had been like this since he was a kid.” Sora said. “He values others’ happiness over his own. He was even like that with his ex-girlfriends and boyfriends back in university even after they broke up. He kept smiling and never shown his bitterness or sadness.”

 

“But?” Donghae sensed that there was something else.

 

“Hyukjae’s very lonely. People often took it for granted, thinking that there was nothing wrong with him because he was always smiling and caring. It’s not completely their fault though since Hyukjae hides it so well.”

 

“How did you know about this?”

 

“Well, I am his big sister after all, but I didn’t know how bad it is until the year he graduated from high school…There was a person he had a crush on for almost the entire high school period. Hyukjae befriended him and became his best and only friend. He told the other about some of his own problems and they would find some answers. It was the first time he opened up to someone, even just a little.

 

“Only thing is…he never confessed because the other was straight, so he pretended to be only friends with his crush. On the last day of high school when the graduation took place, his friend announced that he had a girlfriend and will be moving together to America. The crush merely said a simple goodbye and thanked him for being his friend to Hyukjae before he left early to catch the plane since his girlfriend was already in America. Hyukjae disappeared right after the ceremony and I found him crying in the bathroom stall. Even when Hyukjae was in university, the crush never called him once. It broke his heart and he tried to find solace by having relationships, but none of them worked.

 

“It became worse when our parents died. Hyukjae fell into depression for a very long time because he was even lonelier than before. He blamed himself for not being strong and not able to protect them. When I asked him if he was okay, he just smiled and told me not to worry. Our aunt and uncle never asked if he had something on his mind, and instead harassed him because of his sexuality.

 

“Hyukjae didn’t decide to become a doctor when he started his undergraduate studies, but he suddenly shifted his attention to medical school after the fire. He was still the same when he became a doctor. He smiled at every patient that he had taken care of, but I always find him crying by himself when he was alone. Although he never told me, I know that he would visit our parent’s grave every week because he missed them so much. Even though he had not told them about his problems, he blamed himself for missing his chances like what happened with his high school crush.”

 

Donghae’s heart hurt like someone stabbed it from what Sora told him. “He told me about the fire,” He whispered as he traced the long burn on Hyukjae’s arm. “but I never knew about this part of his past. I always thought that it was strange for Hyukjae being a doctor because of his behavior, like eating unhealthy foods and fear of needles…is this the reason why? He felt happy when he could heal people and make them happy? That he can somewhat protect the others from harm?”

 

“Yes, Hyukjae is trying to heal his own scars in his heart by curing others of their illness. However, I don’t think that’s enough, Donghae. Curing patients is not the same as being strong and protect others. He had been doing this but he never got any better.” Sora said. “Hyukjae needs support that I can’t provide. He loved others but he never received any real things back. Do you know what I mean?”

 

Donghae nodded.

 

Sora gave him a warm smile. “Don’t feel guilty anymore, Donghae. I’m not telling you Hyukjae’s past to make you feel worse, but to help you see what you need to do. Hyukjae wouldn’t like seeing you being upset. Instead, give him back by showing him your gratitude. If I may add, you are the only person that he opened his true self to besides me. Whenever he talked to me about you, he always had a little smile on his face.”

 

Donghae blushed a little. “But why me?”

 

“I’m not sure about that part, but if I were to guess, Hyukjae probably found himself in you, being lonely and lost. He understands your pain and you understand his.”

 

He thought back to what Hyukjae said on the first night they shared a bed together. _“We are not that different, aren’t we? The world is just so unfair.”_

 

_He really meant it._

 

Donghae stared at the messy raven hair and sniffing the faint strawberry scent. Hyukjae looked so vulnerable like that.

 

_His true self._

 

“Thanks Sora, for talking with me.” Donghae said. “I was foolish to think that he betrayed me or anything, but I can promise you that he will smile for himself again.”

 

Sora grinned and got up. “I will count on it, and I am glad that you two met. I think Shindong is done with cooking, let’s get you something to eat.”

 

Donghae followed Sora out of the bedroom. Before he stepped out of the doorframe, he stopped and turned back to look at Hyukjae once more.

 

_I will take care of you, Lee Hyukjae, just as how you look after me. I love you._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Massaging his temples, Donghwa groaned at the migraine he had since he woke up in the morning. He had already drunk four cups of coffee before he came into the office, and another two while working through the emails and reports that came flooding in. Most of them were questions from various people asking where Lee Hyukjae was, the renowned doctor who had been missing at the hospital that morning.

 

But Donghae…

 

That’s the main source of Donghwa’s headache. He can’t detect the tone of call from the previous night because it sounded so…neutral and emotionless. He knew that Donghae would feel hurt because Donghwa had been avoiding him, but he was afraid of what happens in the future would tear them apart.

 

_He will hate me._

 

Donghwa knew that whatever choices that he makes, it will only be a matter of time before he confronts Donghae. However, as of that moment, he had to work through the ever-increasing amount of emails, calls, and medical reports that was sent his way. Since the terrible tragedy on the previous night, it had been getting worse by the minute. He never knew that the news will spread fast like a wildfire so soon.

 

_Speaking of wildfire…_

 

He glanced at his phone beside his laptop. It was the secondary source of his headache because of the message that was sent to him a few minutes earlier.

 

_The fireworks that will set the world on fire._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“This is delicious.” Donghae mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs and bacon. “Thank you Shindong!”

 

“No problem at all.” Shindong replied. Donghae loved the older man because the other made him feel warm and fuzzy, like he was right at home. Of course, not as much as Hyukjae does.

 

“I stocked up your fridge so you don’t have to go out and buy groceries anytime soon. Also, I wrote some recipes that you could try yourself, some of which could help Hyukjae recover.” Shindong added proudly.

 

“Alright, no need to promote yourself.” Sora chuckled. “By the way Donghae, can we open the TV for a moment? I want to see what’s on the news.”

 

“Yeah sure.” Donghae said as he put down his fork. He opened the TV and found the news anchor was discussing with a political figure that Donghae vaguely remembered seeing at the Resort.

 

“…and then the explosions started happening. People were screaming and running away from the fire and smoke.” The figure said. “We ran down the mountain and the explosions just kept going behind us. It was one of the most horrific night that I’ve ever experienced. Thankfully, all of the guests escaped mostly unharmed.”

 

“Thank you, Sir.” The anchor said grimly before she turned her attention back to the camera. “The President’s body was found a few hours ago under the wreckage of what’s left of the Resort. It is a major loss for Korea and many leaders of other countries offered their condolences.”

 

The screen behind the anchor changed. To Donghae’s shock, it began to play a censored version of the assassination of the President. The exact same one that he saw back on the tower.

 

“How is this possible?” Donghae asked in bewilderment. “I thought the media couldn’t access the Resort?”

 

“No, Donghae.” Shindong said. “Early this morning, every screen in the city lit up at the same time that showed the exact same thing. Even our phones and tablets.”

 

“Everyone knew about the assassination.” Sora said. “Then chaos erupted when people realized that Korea has no leader right now.”

 

“How did you get here then?”

 

“Subway, it’s much safer than the streets right now.”

 

Donghae stood up and threw open the curtains. He could see the linger smoke rising up from what’s left of the Resort. The entire mountain had collapsed and there were still some lingering fires. He looked down and saw people running away from hooded figures. Several buildings had broken windows. Sounds of police sirens could be heard from every direction.

 

“We strongly advise all civilians to stay indoors as several riots have broken out on the streets. Police are sent to control the situation.” The anchor said on the TV screen. “Many are sent to the hospital due to injuries. In terms of the hospital, it is also rumored that the famous doctor Lee Hyukjae is not present. The hospital has addressed that he received minor injuries from the Resort last night and will be resting at home until he recovered.”

 

Donghae shut the TV off, having heard enough.

 

_This is madness._

 

Suddenly, Sora’s phone rang in her pocket. She read the caller ID before picking up the call “Hello Sir?”

 

The silver-hair looked at the phone, knowing who’s on the other side.

 

She was silent for a moment. “Yes, he’s okay, I’m at his place right now…Okay Sir, I will be back in fifteen minutes.” She said, ending the call. “Donghae, we have to go now. The head wants me back because of the waves of people coming in, all injured from the riots.”

 

Donghae nodded. “Oh, and one more thing.” Sora said. “Hyukjae becomes very…clingy when he’s sick.”

 

_Was that a smirk before she left?_

 

The apartment was quiet again. Wondering around the house, he looked through Hyukjae’s stuff to find anything interesting. Poring over the books on the library shelves, he noticed that there was a corner of something tucked between two large yet dusty books.

 

He pulled on the corner to find a picture of Hyukjae and his family. They were standing in front of a large company building that says “Lee Pharmaceutical” on top of the front door. Hyukjae looked no more than ten at the time, and the building looked brand-new. Donghae smiled at how cute Hyukjae was, having the same single-lid eyes, pointy nose, and the gummy smile. His parents were beautiful people as well, Hyukjae had inherited his mother’s eyes and nose, as well as his father’s smile.

 

_He looked so happy._

 

He put the picture back and decided to pick a book from the library and walked over to the living room. He laid down on the Nemo plushie and aimlessly flipped through the pages. Donghae’s dizziness grew after the hundredth page. He didn’t expect to be so worn out.

 

_Maybe I should call Taehyung later about this. I can’t just sleep all day, especially when Hyukjae needs me._

 

Slowly, the drowsiness took over and Donghae dozed off, burying his head against Nemo.

 

It only felt like a few minutes when Donghae was startled by a thump coming from the bedroom, followed by a pained groan. He immediately jumped up and ran into the room to find a weak and sweaty Hyukjae lying on the carpet floor.

 

“Hyukjae! You’re awake!” Donghae scrambled to his side and helped him lie back on the bed.

 

“Donghae…?” Hyukjae called out weakly with a rough voice, his eyes unfocused.

 

“Yes, it’s me. What are you doing? You could have hit your head again.” Donghae said, checking over the wound.

 

“I just wanted to have some water.”

 

“You could have called for me.”

 

“No one answered.”

 

“Oh.” Donghae blushed. “Sorry, I kind of fell asleep in the living room.”

 

“What happened? How did I get back?” Hyukjae was trying to get up.

 

“Woah, woah, woah, stay here and don’t move.” Donghae pushed him back down again when he saw the wince. “I’ll get you some water and I will explain.”

 

Donghae ran to the kitchen to get a glass of water and returned to the bedroom. With one arm supporting Hyukjae’s back to help him sit up, he let Hyukjae drained the cup. Donghae could feel the feverish skin underneath the soaked t-shirt. Hyukjae was silent as Donghae explained what happened after he passed out. “The others and I decided that you should stay home for a while, you got a really bad fever.”

 

Hyukjae glanced around. “What time is it?”

 

“It’s almost six in the evening.” Donghae said. “Sora and Shindong came earlier to check on you. They also brought over some medicines as well.”

 

“Oh. Alright.”

 

Silence.

 

Donghae could feel the change of atmosphere. He looked at Hyukjae, whose eyes wouldn’t meet his.

 

_I need to make things right._

 

“Hyuk? Can you look at me?”

 

Hyukjae was startled by the sudden nickname and he slowly raised his face to find Donghae’s eyes.

 

“Donghae, I’m sorry-”

 

“You already said that last night.” Donghae said. “I know you meant it and you never intended on hurting me, but I never got a chance to…you know, say anything because of all the things happened afterward. I want to say sorry as well. For running away without listening to your explanation and make you worried sick.”

 

“Hae, it’s fine-”

 

“It’s _not_ fine!” Donghae burst out. Tears were starting to form in his eyes. “You got hurt because of my reckless behavior.”

 

_You idiot, Sora did say that you should not blame yourself. Hyukjae wouldn’t like it._

 

But he couldn’t help it since it was technically his fault.

 

“Hae, please stop crying.” Hyukjae raised a trembling arm up to wipe away the tears with his thumb. “You know that I would do anything to keep you from getting hurt. It was my mistake to not realize how you would feel when I kept the fact that Donghwa is alive. I thought it was the best for the both of you. I thought I failed to protect you.”

 

“I didn’t even know about Donghwa did something that hurt me. In fact, I _still_ don’t know.” Donghae said. “He actually called last night to check if you are awake.”

 

Hyukjae’s eyes widened. “Wait, you talked to him?”

 

“Kind of. I only said that you were still unconscious but safe. I didn’t say anything else but to talk some other time.”

 

The black-hair studied his face. “How do you feel?”

 

Donghae was silent for a while. “I don’t know.”

 

He knew that Hyukjae could tell he was conflicted on the inside. “Let’s not talk about it right now then. How are the people? I mean, they probably found out about the President.”

 

“Oh, yeah. Things aren’t great outside.” Donghae informed him about the situation. “Sora had to go back to hospital to take care of the injured.”

 

Hyukjae was trying to get up again. “I should go-”

 

“Absolutely not.” Donghae said. “You can’t even get out of bed.”

 

“But-”

 

“No, Hyukjae.” Donghae said firmly, then his expression softened. “Why do you care so much about others and not yourself?”

 

Hyukjae furrowed his eyebrows. “Sorry?”

 

“Well…Sora kind of…told me about your past.” Donghae said hesitantly. “About your personality and…what happened to you in high school.”

 

Hyukjae couldn’t meet his eyes again.

 

“She told me this so that I shouldn’t continue blaming myself for your injury and instead take care of you.” Donghae. “I mean, of course I will look after you, but I want to ask why don’t you other people know how you feel? Why do you always smile when you are hurt on the inside?”

 

“I…I don’t know. I never knew how to be happy for myself.” Hyukjae said quietly. “People tried to help me, but they just misunderstand what I want and make things worse. The crush…he was the only person that understood what I need, but he left and I never saw him again. I became lonely again, and I found that it was actually quite nice when no one was around to make things complicated for me.”

 

“And you pushed everyone away.” Donghae said. “You isolated yourself on purpose because you know how to make other people happy but not the other way around, and in the end, it is always you who is hurting. You don’t want to tell the others that you are sad and lonely because you care for them. They tried to make you feel better and that causes an endless cycle of pain because they misunderstand you.

 

“You were hurt even more when the high school crush left you, and it became worse when you were forced to live with your aunt and uncle after your parents died. You tried to be happier by becoming a doctor, finding a cure to your loneliness. Am I right, Hyukjae?”

 

Donghae could see the tears streaming down Hyukjae’s beautiful face and he continued. “Then…I appeared in your life. You let me in because I know how you feel. I understand your pain of being lonely and lost, being taken away from all the joyous things there could be found on this world.”

 

Hyukjae began to sob. “It hurts so much when you ran away. I thought that I would never see you and I would be by myself again.”

 

Donghae couldn’t help but to kick himself. _Lee Donghae, you are such a fool. He wants you. You two even became intimate with each other and then you ran away._

 

“Hyukjae, I’m really sorry that I ran away.” He said as he leaned down and hugged the feverish body. “I acted on an impulse, but I never knew it would hurt you more than you hurt me. You didn’t fail to protect me at all. You are the strongest person that I know. Look at you, you managed all those years by yourself and you kept moving forward. You protected me by pushing me away from those debris. I will be with you, Hyuk, I won’t leave. As much as I appreciate for you taking care of me and making me happy, I want you to be happy for yourself as well.”

 

Hyukjae tightened his arms around Donghae and cried. It was one of those rare moments when Hyukjae needed Donghae, but it felt right when the black-hair clung onto him.

 

“I love you, Hyukjae. Don’t you dare think otherwise that I will leave or anything.” Donghae said when the other stopped crying. He kissed those chapped lips and felt the other relaxed. “Well, except that I need to cook dinner now…” He said, trying to bring a smile on the other’s face.

 

It worked, Hyukjae gave him a small yet beautiful smile. “Don’t take too long.”

 

“I will try not to.” Donghae kissed the other again.

 

“Am I your patient now, Hae?” The other had a silly grin on his face.

 

“You could say that.” Donghae giggled before he went out of the room.

 

_Keep smiling, Hyukjae._

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“How’s Hyukjae?” Donghwa asked.

 

“Better. I just got a message saying that he’s awake now.” Sora said.

 

 _Probably from Donghae_. Donghwa thought. “Okay thank you. Good work today, there were many patients that came in.”

 

“Majority of them were minor injuries, Sir.” Sora smiled before she walked towards the door. “It wasn’t much of a hassle.”

 

Donghwa leaned back on his chair before he heard Sora’s voice again. “You should talk to Donghae, Sir.”

 

Donghwa was startled. “How did you-”

 

“Anyone could see that you two looks identical. It wasn’t hard to guess and the way you panicked pretty much confirmed it, Sir.” Sora said. “Donghae was beside me when you called earlier. He looked very conflicted the entire time so I thought something is wrong. I think you should work things out with him.”

 

Donghwa sighed. “Sora, you don’t understand…”

 

“I don’t need to, Sir.” Sora said as she walked out. “I have a little brother myself. The longer you wait and leave him by himself in his struggle, the worse it will get. I regretted every day that I didn’t talk to Hyukjae and help him sooner. Please think it over, Sir.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae got to admit, Shindong was a fantastic cook. He was half-way through following the recipe that Shindong gave him to make chicken noodle soup, and it was already smelling heavenly. Donghae figured that Hyukjae should drink something warm and hearty in his state.

 

He was humming along some tunes when he detected a faint scent of strawberry with his sensitive nose. Then something wrapped around his waist and a weight against his nape. Donghae smiled. “Miss me?”

 

“Yeah, you are taking too long.” Came a ragged voice behind him.

 

“Hyuk, let go of me, I’m trying to cook.”

 

“No.” Hyukjae said as he nuzzled his nose against Donghae’s nape.

 

Donghae shuddered a little from the warm breath, but he liked how the other was so close to him. Sora wasn’t kidding about Hyukjae being clingy when he was sick. “Hyuk, please. I’m making something good for your fever. Wait, you have the strength to walk around now?”

 

“Barely, still dizzy.”

 

Donghae closed the lid and turned around to peck the plump lips. “Can you walk back by yourself then? I promise that I will be with you soon.”

 

“I think I can. You shouldn’t kiss me though, I might get you sick.”

 

“I already kissed you before, too late to turn back now.” Donghae chuckled. “Plus, you like it when I kiss you.”

 

Hyukjae pouted. “Fine, don’t take long or else I will come back here.”

 

Donghae couldn’t help but grin at the other’s clinginess. He loved this cute side of Hyukjae, just as much as his caring and sexy sides.

 

He found a plate to carry the bowl of soup to the bedroom. When he entered the room, he found Hyukjae sitting up obediently on the bed with a pillow behind his back. Donghae brought a chair over and sat down beside Hyukjae. “Here, let me feed you.” He said as he brought up a spoonful of the soup and blew over the surface to cool it slightly.

 

Hyukjae drank the spoonful of soup held before him. “Is it good?” Donghae asked.

 

“’Good’ is an understatement.” Hyukjae said as he drank more. “Thanks Hae.”

 

Donghae helped him drain the soup one spoonful at a time. “I feel so much better already.” Hyukjae said with a cheeky smile.

 

“No, you are not getting out of bed.” Donghae stuck his tongue out. “Wait for me here while I wash these.”

 

After he came back and plopped down beside Hyukjae who turned on the TV to watch the news, he couldn’t help but notice the slight worry and fear in the chocolate eyes.

 

“Hyukkie,” Donghae said softly. “You don’t have to worry, I said I’m not leaving.”

 

“I know, it’s just…a habit.” Hyukjae said as he watched the reports on the screen.

 

_How could I make it go away?_

 

“Hyuk…look at me.”

 

Hyukjae turned his head and Donghae pulled him closer. Their lips clash together and Donghae held on to Hyukjae’s back even tighter. He figured that he used a bit too much force judging on Hyukjae’s pained groan, but it soon transformed into more of a sound of pleasure and comfort. Donghae licked over the chapped lips and he could feel Hyukjae’s lips parted slightly. He took the chance to slip his tongue into the feverish chamber. Hyukjae moaned against his mouth but Donghae continued to slide over every surface that his tongue could reach.

 

He pulled away and both of them were out of breath. Donghae could see the insecurity in the other’s eyes was gone, replaced by warmth and love.

 

“I will never leave you again, Hyukjae. Do you believe me now?”

 

The corner of Hyukjae’s lips slowly pulled upwards. “I believe you, Donghae.”

 

Donghae switched the TV to a channel that was playing a movie. However, neither one of them paid much attention to it as they were more focused on each other’s warmth. Donghae made Hyukjae take his medicine a little later. He watched the other slowly closing his eyes from the effect of the medicine.

 

Donghae shut off the TV helped the other get down to a sleeping position. Hyukjae turned with a little struggle and faced him. “Thank you, Hae.” He said with closed eyes.

 

Donghae smiled and draped an arm over Hyukjae, breathing in the sweet smell. “Hyuk?”

 

Hyukjae opened his eyes a little. “Yes?”

 

“Don’t wear cologne that often, I like this smell of you better.” Donghae winked before he closed his eyes, falling asleep with the person he loves beside him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Hyukkie :( But hey at least EunHae is back
> 
> 500+ hits and 30 Kudos! Thank you people!
> 
> If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up on Twitter at: @tateatae123
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


	12. Chapter 11: A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “These wings came from pain, but they are wings headed for the light.”

Over the next few days, Hyukjae’s health slowly improved. Although his head still gets dizzy and sometimes required Donghae’s help moving around, his fever died down rather quickly and reduced to a few coughs. He used the ointment that Sora gave him daily and let Donghae used it too to speed up the healing. Hyukjae was kind of disappointed when he had to miss out on treating Donghae for Valentine’s Day, but the other said it was fine and they just cuddled for the entire day, sharing plenty of kisses and loving words. Touched by other’s care and sweetness, Hyukjae believed that he found himself the best boyfriend he could ever imagine.

 

The outside, however, was not going so well. The riots were still ongoing even though police were dispatched. Both Hyukjae and Donghae stayed indoors at all times to avoid the mess. However, Hyukjae had already planned to return to work on the following week because he knew the hospital needed him, but he didn’t tell Donghae yet.

 

“Hae?” Hyukjae asked while eating his plate of curry. It was Thursday night and a snow storm were brewing outside, so Donghae thought he would make something warm. The silver-hair had mastered almost every recipe that Shindong gave him.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’ve been thinking…I should return to work next week.”

 

Donghae waited. “And?”

 

Hyukjae blinked. “You are okay with it?”

 

“I mean, yeah of course. I was starting to wonder when you are going to say it. With all the riots going on, the hospital must be pretty busy right now.”

 

“Are you okay with being home alone?” Hyukjae asked worriedly.

 

Donghae shrugged. “I don’t want to go out by myself, so I will be safe here.”

 

“But you will be home doing nothing…” Hyukjae said. “Wait, Hae…you said that you studied pharmacology back when you were in university, right?”

 

“Yeah, I graduated from the undergraduate program. Why?”

 

“What were you planning to do afterwards?”

 

“I was planning to go into pharmacy school to become a pharmacist. I got accepted into many schools, even the ones I applied to in America after I took my PCAT. But, you know what happened after…”

 

“How about you continue your studies, then?”

 

“What?” Donghae looked surprised. “How? Even if I got accepted again, I would be in public and-”

 

“Kyuhyun can help you.” Hyukjae interrupted before Donghae could ramble on. “Even though he plays games all day, he is a genius. He got a job at our hospital’s pharmacy right after he completed his undergrad, which usually requires a PharmD. He took online courses to properly obtain a PharmD while working there.”

 

“Wow.” Donghae was wide-eyed. “I mean…really? This feels like a dream…”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “No, really. You could finish your studies at home. Kyuhyun is also really close with the professor, so you should be able to get into the courses.”

 

“Wow, thank you Hyukkie.” Donghae grinned. “But…it will take me a long time, wouldn’t it?”

 

“I don’t think so…” Hyukjae said. “While we were still back at the Resort…I actually read up on the experiment logs of you that Donghwa sent me.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The previously cheerful air suddenly turned cold.

 

Hyukjae quickly continued before it gets too awkward. “From what I read, your whole nervous system was…renewed? Yeah, let’s just call it that. This basically explains why your brain and peripheral nerves looked so complex under the MRI. The logs also mentioned that you should have accelerated logical processing and advanced limbic system.”

 

“You are saying…” Donghae tried to process his words, thinking hard back to all the materials he learned while he was still in school. “I think faster and memorize more?”

 

“Let’s test that out.” Hyukjae went to the library and grabbed one of his old biology textbooks. “Here, read one of the pages and I will test you.”

 

“Do I get something if I get it right?” Donghae asked hopefully.

 

Hyukjae smirked. “If you want.”

 

Donghae took the book and read for a few minutes. “Okay, I’m done.”

 

“What is the first sentence of the fourth paragraph?”

 

Donghae closed his eyes. “’Mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAP kinase, activates MAP kinase kinase by phosphorylation, then in turn phosphorylates MAP kinase kinase kinase.’”

 

Hyukjae smiled. “Yep, you got it down to the exact words.”

 

“Wow.” Donghae was amazed.

 

“And for your reward…” Hyukjae bent down to capture the other’s thin lips. Donghae groaned with pleasure as Hyukjae slid his tongue into the other’s cavern. Hyukjae loved how Donghae tasted and could never get enough.

 

When they finally broke apart, Hyukjae could see Donghae’s left eye had turned gold. “Hae…we still got to finish our dinner.”

 

“Oh. Yeah. Right.” Donghae stammered and went back to eating, but not before Hyukjae caught the slight disappointment in the silver-hair’s eyes.

 

To be honest, Hyukjae was slightly disappointed himself. He knew that he could have done something more, but Hyukjae was scared that doing what he wants to do might hurt Donghae. Sure, they had a blowjob together, but having sex was another thing because it was way too familiar to what Donghae had been through.

 

“Hyuk? Do you hear me?”

 

Hyukjae snapped away from his train of thoughts and gave the other a sheepish smile. “Sorry Hae. I kind of blanked out for a moment.”

 

“I was asking who in the world names these things? I mean, MAP kinase kinase kinase is just redundant.”

 

Donghae was trying to lighten the mood.

 

Hyukjae went along with it. “I don’t know. There are a lot of things in biology have weird names.”

 

Then his teeth bit something hard. Hyukjae took it out of his mouth and frowned. “Donghae, isn’t this the cap of the sesame oil?

 

Donghae glanced. “Oh, oops. I was wondering where it went when I was cooking.”

 

“Are you trying to kill me?”

 

“I didn’t mean to!” Donghae protested. Hyukjae just laughed and gave other a peck on the cheek to erase that pout away.

 

The dinner continued with a casual mood. Hyukjae made a bunch of jokes and told the other his funny stories of when he was a kid. Donghae giggled and laughed like a kid throughout the meal. Hyukjae watched that beautiful kaleidoscopic eye shifts in colour whenever Donghae laughed. It was a perfect Thursday night.

 

_Thursday…_

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Hae?”

 

“Hmm?” They were sitting on the couch together watching TV. Donghae was leaning against Hyukjae and put his head on the other’s shoulder.

 

“Tomorrow I have to go somewhere.”

 

“Where?”

 

Hyukjae didn’t respond.

 

Donghae pushed up his head to look at the other’s face. Hyukjae was biting his lips, his eyes looked a little sad and insecure. He scratched the burn on his arm as if it itched a lot.

 

“Hyuk, what’s wrong?”

 

“Tomorrow is my parent’s wedding anniversary.”

 

_Oh._

 

“You want to visit your parents?” Donghae asked quietly.

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Sora and I always did since they died. But I don’t want to leave you alone here.”

 

Donghae sensed that there was something else, but he decided not to push it.

 

“Would you like me to come with you?”

 

“Do you want to?”

 

“Well…” Donghae thought of a reason. He secretly kind of wanted to go to be there for Hyukjae. “I think it would be polite for me to greet your parents as your boyfriend.”

 

Hyukjae smiled, although his eyes were still sad that made Donghae’s heart clench. “Thanks Hae, you are so sweet.”

 

Donghae smiled in return and went back to cuddling with Hyukjae. The show they were watching was suddenly interrupted by an announcement. On the screen it was one of the government officials making a statement.

 

“Due to the current unrest in the nation, we would like to announce that an immediate election of the new President is on the way. The police will still be involved to control the situation and we expect the riots will cease within a week. The voting will begin this weekend and we expect all citizens to participate. The candidates are now going to present their speeches.”

 

Donghae and Hyukjae watched as the first candidate got up from his seats.

 

“He looks so young!” Donghae exclaimed. “He’s probably even younger than us!”

 

Hyukjae paid closer attention to the young man standing on the podium. “No way…I know him!”

 

“Good evening, everyone. My name is Kim Ryeowook.” Said the man. “You may have recognized me as the previous President’s son.”

 

With that, Donghae could instantly see the resemblance between the two people. The short, jet-black hair contrasted with his pale, healthy skin. The sparkly brown eyes and the kind, warm smile is almost the same, yet his presence gives off a powerful and authoritative aura that had the ability to silence the room.

 

 _He looks like a prince_. Donghae thought.

 

“…past few days, my family was in deep grievance due to the loss of my father. However, I could not watch the country that my father lead crumble into chaos. I will continue my father’s duty and lead Korea to a brighter future.”

 

“He already won.” Hyukjae muttered as Ryeowook continued his speech. Sure enough, the other seated candidates behind him already looked defeated. “Being the son of the beloved President, majority of people would surely vote for him.”

 

Donghae agreed. Ryeowook’s powerful words were extremely persuasive. Adding on the fact that he was related to the deceased President, it was an instant win.

 

“Want to get ready for bed now?” Hyukjae asked as Ryeowook finished the speech. “There is really no need to listen to other speeches.”

 

“Sure.” Donghae stifled a yawn and joined Hyukjae in the shower. Their gently washed each other, but not intimate enough for the situation to turn something more passionate. “So much has been going on for the past week.”

 

“Hopefully it will be over soon.” Hyukjae whispered as he brought Donghae closer, placing his chin on the latter’s shoulder and let the warm water rained on them. Donghae circled his arm around Hyukjae and just stood there to enjoy the moment of peace. However, both of them knew that there was more to come.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Ryeowook loosened his tie and tossed it on his table. He finally let out a sigh of relief and let the peaceful silence sank in. He knew that it will be a long time before peace will finally come by again.

 

There was a knock on the door. “Mr. Kim?” Came a voice as the door was opened carefully.

 

“I told you not to call me that when we are alone.”

 

The other sighed as he shut the door. “I know it’s hard for you to stand on that podium, Ryeowook.”

 

“Did I do well?”

 

Only when him and his secretary were together alone, Ryeowook would show his insecure, childish side.

 

His secretary smiled. “Better than well, Ryeowook. I’m proud of you. I’m sure Uncle will be proud as well.”

 

“Thanks, Yesung.”

 

“Anything for my cousin.”

 

Ryeowook nodded and let the tears fell from his eyes. Yesung let his own fell as well, hugging the other tightly as they grieved for the loss of one of their family members.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae sat in silence with Shindong at the backseat, while Hyukjae was driving and Sora sat beside him. Sora and Shindong came to their place to pick them up. Hyukjae had been silent ever since he greeted Donghae a “good morning” when they woke up.

 

They drove out of the city and towards the outskirts. They arrived at the cemetery, and Donghae stepped out into the cool, crisp air. That Friday morning was bright and sunny in contrast to the snow storm the day before, and there was no wind at all to stir up any chilliness. Fresh snow smoothed over the landscape like a white blanket.

 

Together the group hiked up to the highest hill in the cemetery. There were two tombstones sat under a tree, looking over the city skyline. Donghae and Shindong stayed back while the siblings went ahead.

 

“They come here every year?” Donghae quietly asked Shindong, watching the siblings placed their flowers on their parent’s graves.

 

“Every anniversary, birthdays, whatever day that was special to the family.” Shindong replied. “Many others visit too.”

 

“Others?”

 

“Their parents’ company had developed many medicines that saved many lives. Some of the medicines you usually take were made by them, including the ointment that Hyukjae is using right now. They were well respected, including the President himself.”

 

“What kind of people would do this to them?” Donghae murmured bitterly. “Why would they murder great people like them? Sora and Hyukjae doesn’t deserve this.”

 

“I agree, but when you become famous, there are always people out there trying to get you.” Shindong sighed. “Although after the Lee Pharmaceuticals was shut down, their achievements are still in people’s hearts. Their accomplishments won’t be forgotten.”

 

 “The company is gone?”

 

“Yes. I’m sure Hyukjae have told you. There was nothing left, demolished a week after Mr. and Mrs. Lee’s funeral. Sora told me that they built the main headquarter somewhere in the forests out there. She and Hyukjae only visited there once because their parents said it was too far out for them to visit regularly. It’s a shame that Hyukjae was little back then, he couldn’t remember all the details clearly.”

 

Donghae remembered the picture he saw in Hyukjae’s library. “Why all the way out there though? Wouldn’t it make more sense to build it in the city?”

 

“Sora told me that her parents disliked the loud noises of the city, and preferred somewhere quiet to focus on their research.”

 

“That’s smart for them.” Donghae said, watching Sora and Hyukjae hold each other’s hands tightly while talking to the stones.

 

Hyukjae let go of Sora’s hands and walked back, while Shindong walked forwards and joined Sora. “Hey.” Hyukjae said softly.

 

“You okay?” Donghae asked as he brought the other into his arms.

 

Hyukjae gave him a small smile and gently pecked him on the lips, his chocolate eyes glistened in the sunlight. “I’m fine.”

 

They said nothing afterwards while keeping each other close, waiting for Shindong and Sora to finish.

 

The married couple was done and they returned to where Hyukjae and Donghae were standing. “We will wait at the bottom of the hill.” Sora said with a smile. Donghae nodded and walked towards the pair of tombstones with Hyukjae beside him. His boots made no noise as they trudged through the snow.

 

“Um…Hello Mr. and Mrs. Lee.” Donghae said. He really didn’t know what to say at first because he was always bad at public speeches. “My name is Lee Donghae. I am currently dating your son.”

 

He sounded awkward but Hyukjae gently squeezed Donghae’s hand gently for him to continue.

 

“I am forever in debt to him for saving my life. He gave me a place to call home and took care of me. I love him so much that no one could ever possibly imagine. We both share our pains together and try our best to heal from the scars. I promise that whatever happens in the future, I will never leave Hyukjae. I hope that you would approve and support our relationship. May you rest well in Heaven.”

 

Donghae placed his own bouquet of flowers beside Hyukjae’s. “Thank you, Hae.” Hyukjae said quietly.

 

Donghae looked at his boyfriend. There were tears in his eyes, but it was not sorrow. Instead, it was full of joy.

 

“Hyuk?”

 

“It’s so nice of you.” Hyukjae said, pulling the other into his embrace and leaned against him. “You know, Hae, I actually have to tell you something.”

 

“What?” Donghae asked while leaning back at Hyukjae so that they were supporting each other.

 

“The last time I was here visiting my parents, I was crying here, alone, wishing that I could have done something on the night that they died. I wished that I could be strong enough to protect someone.”

 

“They wouldn’t have liked seeing you crying, Hyuk. If they could hear you, they would have been upset that they left early.”

 

Hyukjae looked at him with amused eyes. “Interesting, that’s what my sister tells me all the time. Anyways, I said that I wished I could be stronger, and…well, then I heard the explosion.” He said, pointing to the woods away on the mountain. “It was the day that I met you, Hae.”

 

Donghae stood there, waiting for Hyukjae to continue as the other stroke his cheeks tenderly. Hyukjae’s words were soft and full of love that made Donghae’s heart flutter.

 

“I think my parents could really hear me, watching me from above. They granted my wish.” He continued. “Ever since I found you, people that we know, like Leeteuk and Siwon, told me that I smiled more often when I was not with a patient, which I felt that it was true. I no longer felt the need to come here by myself again for comfort. It’s all because of you, Hae. Thank you for being part of my life.

 

“And you were right, Donghae. We are healing from the pain of the past. I won’t cry anymore because the fire was so long ago, and instead enjoy the life I have right now.” Hyukjae leaned in and gave him a kiss. Donghae closed his eyes and let the other brush their lips together, feeling that Hyukjae poured every little bit of love into that kiss.

 

When they separated, Donghae gave the other a warm smile. He loved that Hyukjae has finally planned to live on happily instead of reminiscing the past. Donghae thought he should try and move on too, since he was no longer imprisoned in that facility. The guards no longer existed in his life and he is now with Hyukjae.

 

“I’m proud of you Hyukjae.” Donghae said. “It’s good to see you smile. I will try and move on from my past too. Maybe I will talk to Donghwa soon, and find where my dad is as well.”

 

Hyukjae grinned, his gummy smile was so bright under the dazzling sunlight.

 

They walked back down the hill to where Sora and Shindong were waiting. Hyukjae was guiding him to their car, while occasionally giving Donghae a loving smile.

 

 _A new beginning_. Donghae thought happily.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Heechul was fussing around with his equipment again. To be honest, he was actually bored out of his mind. There wasn’t much customers recently because of the riots. The only exciting thing that happened recently that he, Kyuhyun, and Sungmin planned something for Donghae and Hyukjae. They had been a little suspicious since they had not heard anything from the couple, especially from Valentine’s Day.

 

He was deep in thought that he didn’t even notice a customer came in.

 

“Um, hello? Anyone there? I want a haircut please.”

 

“Oh, sorry!” Heechul put down the hairdryer and hurried to the front desk. He noticed that the papers were a mess and realized that the Kims were on their lunch break.

 

“No way…Chullie?”

 

Heechul looked up from organizing the sheets of papers and dropped them on the floor, staring at the customer in shock.

 

“Y-you?”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae yawned as he woke up from his nap. It was the day after their visit to the cemetery, and the sun was still shining brightly in the sky. He was exhausted after Hyukjae dragged him to the gym, which was found on one of the floors of Hyukjae’s apartment. His muscles were sore because he had not worked out for so long. Hyukjae’s reason was that since Donghae was eating more now, and he should go and get some exercise.

 

Not that Donghae hated going to the gym, but Hyukjae was an absolute beast. Despite the fact that Hyukjae was still slightly sick and adorned the pale scar on his forehead, he worked through his normal routine just fine, while Donghae struggled to keep up with him. He was out of breath from doing just the fifteen-minutes warmup. The other times when he ran out of breath was whenever he glanced at Hyukjae, who was wearing a simple black tank top and shorts. Donghae could see every muscle ripple from the exposed sides that made him blush madly.

 

Donghae considered staying in bed a little longer when he heard a muffled sound of a piano. He recognized the piece as Clair de Lune, but it sounded a bit off.

 

_Hyukjae?_

 

He got up and tiptoed out of the bedroom. Hyukjae was still wearing his gym clothes and Donghae could see the other playing the piano with the middle pedal pressed down, so that the sound was muffled and quiet.

 

“Hyukjae?”

 

The chocolate eyes looked up. “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

 

“You didn’t.” Donghae said. “What are you doing?”

 

“Well I feel like playing it for a bit.” Hyukjae said as he played some random notes.

 

“Clair de Lune? You said it was your mother’s favorite piece, right?” Donghae remembered the last time he played it. Hyukjae got a little upset and Donghae felt really bad.

 

“I thought I want to give it a try. It’s been so long since I properly played a piece.” Hyukjae said. “Also, I said I want to move on now, right? I want to play this as just a good memory of my mother.”

 

Donghae smiled. He would have kissed the other if Hyukjae have showered. “It’s good to see you like this. However, it sounded a little…off?”

 

“What? Where? I’m sure that I’m playing everything right.” Hyukjae glanced over the sheets.

 

“You are playing in a different key, Hyuk. That’s why it sounded weird” Donghae started laughed when he noticed the key signature.

 

“Don’t laugh!” Hyukjae blushed with embarrassment.

 

Donghae tried to control his giggle but seeing Hyukjae blush like that was too funny. “Fine, I’m sorry.” He finally said. “I want to play the piano too, but we can do that later. I’m going to start making dinner now. Go get a shower, you stink.”

 

“But-”

 

“Sensitive nose, too bad. Don’t try to touch me because you are all gross right now.”

 

Hyukjae pouted and sulked as he went into the bathroom to clean himself up. Donghae went to the kitchen and began to make food. He was halfway through making kimchi soup when the doorbell rang. “Delivery!” called a voice.

 

Donghae went over and opened the door to find a delivery man holding a big box. “What is this?”

 

“Don’t ask me, I’m just a delivery man.”

 

Donghae frowned and closed the door after the man left. He shook the box a little and heard a lot of rattling. _There’s a lot of things inside._

 

He then heard something sizzling on the stove and quickly left the package on the floor to take care of his food. Donghae was about done when Hyukjae stepped out into the living area. He let his black hair down so that it covered the scar on his forehead.

 

“Took you long enough.” Donghae said as he turned off the heat. “That was like more than half an hour. At least you smell nicer now.”

 

Hyukjae looked away as if he was trying to hide something. Donghae noticed that the other’s face was turning red.

 

“What were you doing?” Donghae’s eyes narrowed.

 

“N-nothing.”

 

“Hyukkie?” He put on his cute voice. “What were you doing?”

 

“S-stop that, Hae.”

 

“Don’t tell me you were doing something naughty.” Donghae teased.

 

“Wh-what?” Hyukjae stuttered, his face was tomato red. _Bingo_. “No, I didn’t.”

 

“Liar.” Donghae grinned as he set the food on the table. Hyukjae bit his lips and said nothing because he couldn’t make up any excuses.

 

Donghae however, decided that he wanted to have some fun. “Were you thinking about me?”

 

Hyukjae, who was drinking water in large gulps, choked.

 

“Hae, please…”

 

Donghae himself couldn’t believe how bold and shameless he was being. He knew that Hyukjae was being careful as the other thought he might hurt Donghae, which Donghae noticed when Hyukjae was testing him on biology the other day. However, ever since the last time they got intimate, Donghae trusted the other would never hurt him on purpose. “Were you thinking about me…stepping closer to you and touching you…whispering in your ear…”

 

“Hae, don’t do this.”

 

“With a hand underneath your shirt…and-”

 

Donghae didn’t even get to finish when Hyukjae yanked him right up to his body. Hyukjae began to feverishly attack his lips. Donghae moaned against Hyukjae’s lips when he felt the slippery muscle entered his cavern. He felt his body was beginning to burn up as he did the same by gliding sensually over Hyukjae’s. When they finally broke the dance of tongues, Donghae was incredibly turned on.

 

“What was that for, Hae?” Hyukjae said out of breath.

 

“I want to, Hyukkie.” Donghae said and started to kiss the other again.

 

“Are you sure?” Hyukjae asked, but Donghae could see that the other was getting aroused as well. “Wait Donghae…let’s have dinner first.”

 

Donghae pouted and Hyukjae laughed. “Seems like you really want to. However, would you like to do it on an empty stomach? I’m starving after working out today.”

 

“Fine…”

 

Hyukjae began to walk to the table full of delicious food when he noticed the box on the floor. “Hae, what’s this?”

 

“Oh, it’s a package that came in when you were in the shower. I don’t know who is it from yet.” Donghae said as he rotated the box around to see if there were any names written.

 

Hyukjae got a scissor to cut open the box. The content inside was wrapped in bubble wraps with a handwritten note on top.

 

“‘ _Dear D and H. How are you guys? We hope you guys are still alive because we have not heard anything from you at all. Is Hyukjae doing well from his injury? Hope your Valentine’s Day wasn’t too wild ;) Oh, consider this package as a late Valentine’s Day present. Love you all! From K, S, and H P.S. Siwon wanted to ask if he could have his car back._ ’” Donghae read.

 

“Kyuhyun, Sungmin, and Heechul?” Hyukjae said. “That’s a bad trio. What’s in the bubble wraps?”

 

Donghae flipped the box over and dumped out the content. The protection layer unwrapped itself and the objects inside spilled out.

 

Hyukjae and Donghae just stared at the objects for a good ten seconds of silence.

 

“You know what.” Hyukjae said at last. “I changed my appetite.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, MAP kinase kinase and MAP kinase kinase kinase are real enzymes in your body.
> 
> It's been 84 years...but anyways I'm back(ish)! Sorry for not updating for so long. Real life is hard :(
> 
> Also, Ryeowook is back!!! Coincidently he is also now in this story too. Please look forward to see how things change!
> 
> If you wanna chat about my work/life/random stuff, feel free to hit me up on Twitter at: @tateatae123
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


	13. Chapter 12: You and I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Love me, love me, come back to my arms.”

Donghae stared at the objects that rolled out of the box.

 

_Oh my fucking god._

 

Condoms, lubes, dildos…and a couple more sex toys that Donghae didn’t want to know what their uses were.

 

“You know what. I changed my appetite.”

 

Donghae looked over at the other, whose eyes had darkened. “H-Hyuk?”

 

Instead of an answer, Hyukjae lunged at him and smothered his lips with a hot fiery kiss. They both tumbled on the floor and stopped with Hyukjae looming over him. Donghae couldn’t do anything except shuddering against the sensation and opened his mouth to let the other in. His hands trailed up the other’s muscular back and felt the tension in those powerful muscles.

 

When they pulled apart, Hyukjae bit his lips. “I’m sorry…but I don’t think I could hold back anymore after seeing all of this.”

 

Donghae instantly blushed with that comment.

 

Ever since the last time they were intimate in bed, Donghae couldn’t stop thinking about the other. He knew that both of them had been holding down _certain_ desires over the past couple of days, mostly because they were still recovering from the incident at the Resort. That didn’t stop him from having fantasies of Hyukjae though, and he tried to keep his ever-increasing duration of time in the bathroom less noticeable without the other getting suspicious.

 

“Me neither, Hyuk.”

 

Hyukjae’s eyes widened.

 

“Y-you want to have sex? Are you sure, Hae? I don’t want you to have a flashback.”

 

“It will be fine because it’s you.” Donghae gave him a reassuring smile and a small peck on the lips. To be honest, he was more nervous that he wouldn’t be _good enough_ for the other. “I trust you, Hyukkie.”

 

Hyukjae blinked.

 

“Please?”

 

“Oh Hae.” Hyukjae smiled went back to kissing the daylight out of Donghae. “I love you so much.”

 

“Hyuk, I can’t breathe.” Donghae laughed and wiggled his eyebrows. “So are we going to do it?”

 

Hyukjae blushed a little at Donghae’s bluntness. “Only condom and lube. I personally don’t like toys and it would probably remind you of your time at that place.”

 

Donghae’s heart fluttered at what the raven hair said. “Actually, lose the condom as well.”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t want the condom, Hyuk. I want to feel you.” Donghae nuzzled against the other. “Unless, you are implying that you are not clean?”

 

“What? No, no, don’t worry, I’m clean.” Hyukjae assured him. “I know you are clean as well because, uh, I read your experiments.”

 

“Good.” Donghae said and wrapped his legs around Hyukjae’s waist. He slowly kissed the plump lips and traveled downwards until he reached the base of the neck.

 

“Donghae, please stop this or else we won’t make it to the bedroom.” Hyukjae said.

 

Donghae chuckled and let Hyukjae carried him to the bed, but not before Donghae grabbed one of the bottles of lube that was lying on the floor. As soon as their bodies hit the mattress, Hyukjae resumed to feverishly kissing the silver-hair’s lips. Their bodies grinded against each other, leaving absolutely no space in between them except their clothes.

 

“Can I?” Hyukjae asked him as he tugged Donghae’s shirt a little. Donghae nodded and let the other undress him. He gently ran one of his hands along Donghae’s back while the other held him close. Without breaking their kiss, Donghae snuck his own hands underneath Hyukjae’s loose shirt, causing the other to moan and kissed him harder. Their tongues were doing a sensual dance while their hands traced each other’s back.

 

Donghae wanted to feel more of Hyukjae, so he grabbed the bottom of Hyukjae’s shirt and lifted it up. gasped a little when Hyukjae touched one of his sensitive spots and raked his nails against the muscular back. “Sorry.”

 

Hyukjae ignored him and continued exploring Donghae’s body, this time with his lips as well. Donghae whimpered as he felt the soft lips grazed against one of his nipples and began to tease it, causing him to arch his back with pleasure.

 

Then suddenly Hyukjae pulled back, panting from the intense make-out session. Donghae’s face flushed when he saw the chest and abdominal muscles expanded and contracted rhythmically. “Hae, I want you to do the same.” Hyukjae said with a husky voice.

 

The raven-hair flipped them around so that Donghae was sitting on top of him. “You said you want to touch me, right? Whispering in my ear…”

 

Donghae can’t believe that Hyukjae turned his own words against him.

 

Ignoring the other’s little smirk, he hesitantly bent down and started nibbling Hyukjae’s neck. Donghae heard the body under him let out a little gasp and started to roam his hand down Donghae’s spine. Hyukjae had a great effect on him, especially when Hyukjae was touching his sensitive skin and letting out sensual moans. It made Donghae incredibly turned on and causing him to feel very constrained in his boxers.

 

Donghae eventually made his way down to Hyukjae’s nipple, making the muscular body curve up in a beautiful arc. Meanwhile, Hyukjae snuck his hands into Donghae’s pants and started to knead his butt cheeks. Once in a while he would touch Donghae’s arousal, causing him to whimper and moan. Slowly, Hyukjae removed both his pants and boxers, leaving Donghae completely naked, his hardened erection pressed against Hyukjae’s crotch.

 

Hyukjae pulled Donghae up to roam around his face and neck with his lips, while thrusting his hips up slightly to grind against Donghae’s. He had his eyes tightly shut from the pleasure and shivered whenever Hyukjae touched one of his sensitive spots with his hands or lips.

 

“Hyuk…please…”

 

He opened his eyes and felt the world had shifted into high definition. Everything was crystal clear and sharp. The fingers, lips, and body on him felt like fire that set would send Donghae’s sanity ablaze. The entire room smells strongly of Hyukjae: strawberry with a hint of muskiness (as well as the food from the kitchen, but that’s not important as of the moment).

 

Hyukjae stopped nibbling his earlobe and glanced at his face. “Your left eye is completely gold now.” He smirked.

 

Donghae blushed and let Hyukjae turn them over. The other knew he would be incredibly sensitive when his eye was a different colour. The pair of intense chocolate-brown eyes were staring deeply into his own. “Hae, is there something wrong?”

 

He bit his lips. Hyukjae had always been good at reading his mind. “Nothing…it’s just that...I’m nervous, Hyuk.”

 

“About what?”

 

“About me…” His face was heating up from embarrassment. “Not good enough.”

 

Hyukjae stared at him for a couple seconds, then he started to laugh.

 

Donghae pouted. “Don’t laugh! How could you laugh when we’re like this right now?”

 

Hyukjae’s laugh was reduced to a few giggles, the brown eyes were sparkling with amusement. “All this time I was worried that I’m rushing things and make you feel uncomfortable, but you are scared that you are not good?”

 

Donghae turned his head and closed his eyes. _God, I’m so embarrassing._

 

“Hae, can you look at me? Please?”

 

Donghae didn’t respond. He could hear the other’s sigh and felt a slight movement. Then he felt a warm pair of lips pressing against his left eyelid, which covered his chromatic eye.

 

“Hae, please don’t close your eyes. I want to see them, they are beautiful just like your heart.”

 

Donghae couldn’t help but snort at the other’s cheesiness. Although, his heart was fluttering like crazy when Hyukjae kissed the eyelid. It looked like he has found his new favorite expression from Hyukjae.

 

Being playful, Donghae opened his right eye. “There, happy?”

 

Hyukjae kissed the same eyelid again. “This one too. The special one.”

 

Donghae giggled and obeyed. “Beautiful.” Hyukjae whispered. “Hae, I don’t care if you are good or not. I love you and don’t ever doubt that.”

 

Donghae felt warmth all over his body and kissed the other deeply. “Okay.” He said with an equally soft voice. “So…are we going to do it?”

 

“Are you ready?”

 

He nodded and Hyukjae grabbed the lube that Donghae left on the nightstand. While kissing his thin lips slowly and sweetly, Hyukjae massaged Donghae’s groin, making him aroused again. He let out sighs and moans as those fingers caressed over the sensitive regions. Donghae heard the sound of bottle uncapping and spread his legs a little, allowing Hyukjae to access the area.

 

Donghae shivered when he felt something cold pressed against the entrance. Hyukjae used his other hand to massage his cheeks, and spoke sweet words to relax him. Donghae felt himself loosen up and let the cold and slippery finger slid inside slowly. It was a little painful, but Donghae gritted his teeth and allowed the digit to enter him fully. Hyukjae didn’t move his hands and waited for Donghae to get used to it. “Does it hurt?”

 

“A little.” Donghae gave the other a reassuring smile. “You can move now.”

 

Hyukjae slowly started moving his finger back and forth. It was a mixture of pain and pleasure, but Donghae could feel the pleasure gradually dominate the other feeling as the muscle relaxed more. In a few minutes or so, Hyukjae’s finger was sliding in and out effortlessly, so Donghae signalled to other to put another one in.

 

Hyukjae put another one in, and a third one soon after that as well. By then Donghae was a moaning mess as Hyukjae stretched him. All of the sudden, Hyukjae hit a spot that caused Donghae to cry out in pleasure.

 

“Hyukkie please…” Donghae was trembling from the sudden rush of pleasure. Hyukjae didn’t waste a second and striped himself of the rest of his clothes. Donghae could see the raging hard cock as Hyukjae applied lube on it. Then Hyukjae positioned himself and bent his head down to capture Donghae’s lips.

 

“I love you.”

 

Donghae’s breath hitched when he felt the head entered him. A mixture of pain and pleasure flared up from his groin and upwards to his brain. The linings of the walls tightened reflexively but they gradually loosened and stretched more as Hyukjae continued to push inside. By the time Hyukjae was fully inside him, Donghae was wincing at how full he felt and the pain as his body was adjusting to Hyukjae’s size.

 

“Are you alright?” Hyukjae asked with concern, kissing the frown on Donghae’s face.

 

“Yeah, just…give me a few moments.” Donghae said as he returned the kiss. “You are…bigger than I thought.”

 

Hyukjae’s cheeks turned to the same colour as his swollen lips, but he continued to kiss the other in order to help Donghae ignore the pain. Gently, Hyukjae pulled out a little and thrusted back in, earning him a small yelp. He repeated the motion and the pain slowly faded away, making Donghae moan as Hyukjae slid smoothly in and out of him.

 

“Hyuk, faster.” Donghae begged. “So good…”

 

Hyukjae complied and quickened his pace. Donghae squirmed as he felt the length hit every inch of his walls and how the pleasure got more and more intense. He spread his legs even further apart so Hyukjae could push in deeper.

 

“You are so warm and tight.” Hyukjae managed to say in between his own moans of pleasure. His hands gripped tightly on Donghae’s sides, preventing him from moving too much.

 

Even though the slight constrain was a bit too similar to how the guards raped him in the past, the way Hyukjae treated him was so different. There were far less pain and more pleasure, the hands were comforting and smooth instead of rough and unforgiving.

 

“Hae, should I stop?” Hyukjae suddenly asked with a worried voice. “You’re crying…”

 

Donghae didn’t realize that he had tears streaming down his face. “No, Hyukkie. Those are happy tears.” He smiled. “Can’t you tell by the color of my eye?”

 

Hyukjae gave him a gummy smile back and kissed him tenderly. He resumed his activity, thrusting at a slightly different angle each time.

 

“H-Hyukkie, Hyukkie, please, more-AH!” Donghae screamed at the end when he felt Hyukjae struck his prostate. The insides of him was on fire as Hyukjae stopped for a moment to maintain the pressure on the bundle of nerves. Donghae jerked his whole upper body up from the pleasure to the point that their chests are touching. Hyukjae took the chance to sneak his arms under Donghae, wrapping them around his body so that there was zero distance in between them. In response, Donghae circled his legs around Hyukjae’s waist in an attempt to bring him closer.

 

Moans, whimpers, and Hyukjae’s name kept pouring out of Donghae’s lips as Hyukjae thrust into him over and over again, making sure that the pleasure spot was hit every time. However, Hyukjae kept in control and prevented himself from pounding roughly into him, so that Donghae never felt any pain. He screamed in pleasure when Hyukjae bit into the crook of his shoulder. His own neglected leaking erection was rubbing against both of their abdomen which felt incredible due to the friction. The triple sensation quickly brought him close to his end as he felt the tension in his groin, his walls clenched tighter on Hyukjae’s rod.

 

Donghae’s nerves was overloading with all of his senses firing signals to his brain. The odour of their body was filling his nose. The taste of Hyukjae as they desperately trying to find each other with their mouths. The cool sheen of sweats contrasted with their warm skin. His ears were taking in all the sounds of pleasure. Most of all, the sight of the person above whom he loves the most.

 

“Hyuk, I’m close, I’m so close.” Donghae chanted over and over again.

 

“Oh fuck, Hae…” Hyukjae said in a tight voice. Donghae knew the other was close as well because he could feel the little fluttering inside him. Hyukjae’s movement became more and more erratic and frantic as well. They both clung onto each other tighter as they near their orgasmic release. Donghae was in a complete daze that he couldn’t even tell whose moans belongs to whom.

 

With one final thrust, Hyukjae slammed onto Donghae’s prostate. Donghae threw his head back and screamed, yelling Hyukjae’s name over and over again as he clamped down on Hyukjae while shooting his load all over their abdomen. Hyukjae screamed as well from the overwhelming tightness around his dick, spilling his seed inside Donghae. He collapsed on top of Donghae as they slowly came down from their orgasmic high, completely out of breath. For a while they spoke nothing, with only chests heaving against each other.

 

“Are…you…okay?” Hyukjae managed out.

 

“Yeah…although we need to shower again.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled and gathered Donghae into his arms again, this time carrying him to the shower while still being inside of him. He only pulled out and let Donghae stood on his own when the water warmed up, washing away the white substance that leaked out of his ass. Donghae whined a little when his walls clenched on nothing, but he immediately purred in happiness as Hyukjae massaged his lower back, knowing that it was very sore. They both were covered in hickeys, but Donghae preferred these markings far more than the scars.

 

Donghae leaned against Hyukjae and rested his head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Hyukkie. For being so gentle with me.” He said softly, his hand slid behind Hyukjae’s back and hugged him. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too.” Hyukjae whispered back and pulled back a little so that they could see each other in the eye. Hyukjae’s wet hair was matted down with water streaming down through them, but that didn’t stop him from gently cupping Donghae’s face and brought him to a sweet kiss. “And…Donghae?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You said you were afraid that you were not good. But…I swear if you get any better I would probably die from a heart attack.”

 

Donghae’s face immediately flushed cherry red.

 

After they cleaned up and dressed, Hyukjae carried Donghae to the kitchen table and set him down on a chair.

 

“Hyuk, let me-” Donghae began to say.

 

“No, Hae. Just sit and don’t do anything.” Hyukjae said as he reheated the food in the microwave. “Don’t tell me that you can’t even trust me with a microwave?”

 

“I have my reasons.” Donghae said, remembering one time earlier that week when Hyukjae was trying to put out a grease fire with water. “You and kitchen don’t mix.”

 

Hyukjae scowled and ignored him. To be honest, even if Donghae wanted to stop him, he can’t because he knew that he was still sore from having sex, as well as from working out earlier that day. So he just let Hyukjae do all the work for the rest of the night, watching the other carefully so that he doesn’t set the whole apartment on fire.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae slowly stirred awake from his peaceful dreamless sleep. The sun was shining brightly outside with fluffy clouds that dotted the sky. The digital clock on his nightstand read that it was very close to noon, which amazed Hyukjae since he never slept for this long in a while. They both went to bed just a little before midnight when he saw Donghae’s drooping eyelids. Hyukjae was determined to pamper Donghae for the entirety of Sunday like a good boyfriend.

 

Speaking of Donghae, the silver-hair was sleeping soundly beside him. He had curled his body close to Hyukjae with his head nuzzled deep in his chest. The lips were opened slightly and he was drooling a bit.

 

 _He looks like a fish_. Hyukjae thought giddily as he buried his face in the adorable man’s hair, circling an arm around so that Donghae was in his embrace. Donghae furrowed his eyebrows a little but remained asleep.

 

Hyukjae just stayed like that, holding Donghae close to him as he thought of all the things they went through in the past few weeks. Hyukjae was still afraid since the organization was still out there, plotting something sinister. He had a feeling that assassinating the President won’t be the end of their acts, but something far more dangerous and eviler.

 

_What do I do?_

 

He knew that letting Donghae out in the public was not a great option. Although Donghwa did erase Donghae’s identity from the organization, what would they do if they found an ex-subject that was supposed to be dead?

 

_Should we fight or should we run?_

 

This brought him back the memories of the fire. He remembered the man’s voice, the burning pain on his arm, his parent’s voice…

 

Hyukjae frowned. _Why am I thinking about fire so often recently?_

 

There was something nagging about it that he never felt before. Anyways, he tried to focus on the current situation.

 

Fighting meant the possible end of the organization, however witnessing the amount of arsenal at the Resort, Hyukjae knew it was a risky choice. Besides, what did he have that might be able to bring the organization down? Even the military force would probably be nothing to go against them.

 

Running away meant Donghae could live in peace, away from the trouble and finally have freedom. But from what Donghwa had told him about the experiments, the organization seemed to be global as the Alpha phase was performed in China. So even if they flee to another country, Donghae would still have a chance to be noticed.

 

_Ugh, why do I have to think about this on a Sunday?_

 

The dark thoughts vanished when Hyukjae felt something stir in his chest. He looked down and saw Donghae moving, slowly waking up from his sleep. Scrunching his eyes, the thin lips opened and let out a yawn.

 

“Good morning.” Hyukjae smiled and gave Donghae a peck on the forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

 

Donghae nodded and buried his head deeper into Hyukjae’s chest. “How long have you been awake?” Came a muffled voice.

 

“Ten minutes ago?” Hyukjae said as he brushed the tousled hair. “You looked like a fish when you were drooling on my chest.”

 

Donghae let out an embarrassed whine and Hyukjae laughed. He pulled the other close and rubbed his back in small circles. He could feel that Donghae tensed up a little. “Sore?”

 

Donghae nodded. “I was already sore from going to the gym yesterday.”

 

Hyukjae frowned and began to massage the other while still lying sideways. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“I had planned to tell you after I woke up from my nap, but things got…you know, intense.” Donghae said, humming in happiness as Hyukjae knead the sore muscles

 

Hyukjae remembered last night when he looked into Donghae’s eyes as they both came. The brilliant gold iris with dilated pupil was absolutely stunning.

 

“You were amazing last night.” Hyukjae whispered.

 

Donghae smacked him lightly on the arm from embarrassment. “Don’t say that.”

 

“I’m serious though. There’s no need to be shy around me, Hae. You are absolutely perfect.”

 

Donghae didn’t say anything but Hyukjae knew he was blushing under him, so they cuddled for a while until Donghae’s stomach rumbled.

 

“Can you walk?” Hyukjae asked as Donghae got up.

 

The other carefully took a step forward and winced. “I figured.” Hyukjae said as he got up as well. He lead the other into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

 

“You go sit by the table, I’m going to make breakfast.” Hyukjae said after they were done.

 

Donghae gave him a skeptical look. “It’s just milk and cereal.” Hyukjae assured him. “Nothing is going to explode.”

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“Because I want to pamper you.” Hyukjae said before pouring the milk into two bowls of cereal. “You are sore all over and you can’t walk properly.”

 

Donghae giggled and let Hyukjae took care of him for the entire afternoon. The latter refused to let Donghae walk and instead he carried him everywhere. Hyukjae had pushed the dark thoughts earlier to the back of his head, as he was more interested in looking after of Donghae.

 

“Hae, would you like tacos for lunch?” Hyukjae asked, knowing that Donghae really likes tacos.

 

“Hmm? I don’t know.” Donghae replied, leaning his weight on Hyukjae as they watched a movie together. “Are there enough ingredients in the fridge?”

 

“I don’t want something from home. I want to order takeout.”

 

Donghae raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

 

“Think about it as a date. I don’t want to be a bad boyfriend.”

 

“What?” Donghae looked completely confused. “You want to order tacos as takeout and we eat them at home, you call that a date? And what do you mean as a ‘bad boyfriend’? You are literally the best boyfriend that I’ve ever met!”

 

“What kind of a boyfriend that didn’t take his interest out on Valentine’s Day? Also we didn’t even go on dates before we had sex, Hae.”

 

Donghae laughed. “Really, Hyuk? First of all, we were still recovering when it was Valentine’s Day. Second, why does having sex first equals a bad boyfriend?”

 

“I kind of want our relationship to be a bit more official, you know? I’m going back to work tomorrow so I won’t be staying with you as often. Plus, I’m pampering you today, no excuses.”

 

Donghae snorted and let the other ordered food. It soon arrived and Donghae was very happy to see the tortillas and salsas in the bag. To have some fun, Donghae used his telekinesis to make the tacos, while Hyukjae watched in amusement until the other smeared some of the sour cream on his face.

 

Donghae tried to run but Hyukjae immediately caught him due to his own sore muscles. Completely helpless against the other’s strong grip, he giggled and laughed as Hyukjae smeared the sour cream on his face on his own while tickling him. “You’re so naughty.”

 

“Hyukkie, please, I’m sorry!” The other giggled. “Please stop!”

 

Hyukjae lead the other to the sink and cleaned off the mess on them. “Why do you keep doing this?”

 

“Because it’s fun?” Donghae beamed at him.

 

Hyukjae huffed and dried the adorable face with a towel. “Hae, I got to ask you something.”

 

“What?” The other asked as he took a bite of his taco.

 

“What should we do about the organization?”

 

Donghae froze.

 

“You don’t have to answer right now.” Hyukjae said quickly. _God, I’m an idiot for bringing this up when he is happy_. “I mean, both of us know that you can’t stay hidden forever.”

 

“So…what are you suggesting?”

 

“We either have to get rid of them, or we have to run away.” Said Hyukjae. “Most likely out of the country.”

 

Donghae looked down at his half-eaten food. “We would probably die if we fight them, but we can’t run away either. You have a job and your sister’s here as well. She would be very worried about you suddenly leaving Korea.”

 

“I don’t care about my job when it comes to your safety, Hae. I’m sure Sora would understand if I explain the situation.” Hyukjae said. “But…that would mean I have to tell her about your true identity and the organization. You have your brother here as well.”

 

“You can tell Sora, I trust her.” Donghae said. “Donghwa…”

 

Hyukjae could see the conflicted look on his face. His left eye was stormy, Hyukjae saw the colors of anger, sadness, longing, and hurt. Even after a whole week, Donghae still didn’t talk to his brother yet. Hyukjae would be the same though, if his sibling knew about the entire situation for five years and did nothing.

 

“Maybe Donghwa would know what to do.” Hyukjae said softly and hugged the other. “I can talk to him tomorrow.”

 

Donghae rested his head against Hyukjae’s chest. “I want to talk to him as well. I want to know what happened to Father.”

 

“Want to invite him over tomorrow?”

 

Donghae slowly nodded his head. “I could talk to Taehyung as well.”

 

Hyukjae felt a little pang of jealousy. He knew that it was irrational and dumb since Donghae made it clear that Taehyung was just his favorite singer. “Maybe after. We don’t know that much about him yet. He seems to have a more complicated background.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Sorry that I ruined the mood.” Hyukjae pecked the other on the lips. “I promise that I will make you happy for the rest of the day.”

 

Donghae smiled, the dark colors in his special eye disappeared. “Thanks, Hyukkie.” He said and kissed him fully on the lips.

 

The next morning, Hyukjae woke up to his alarm and quickly turned it off so it wouldn’t wake up Donghae. He gently kissed the sleeping other’s thin lips and slipped into the bathroom quietly to get ready for the day. He styled his hair so that it covers the scar on his forehead, and he decided against putting on his cologne as Donghae liked his strawberry smell. Within half an hour, he finished his breakfast and left the apartment.

 

He parked his car in the hospital’s parking lot. Hyukjae reminded himself to give it back to Siwon as his car was fixed before he pushed open the front door of the hospital. It was certainly more packed than usual, as he could see many patients were hurt due to the riots, which had dwindled down since the candidate speeches last week. Hyukjae was greeted by many staffs and patients who recognized him as he walked to his office.

 

“Hyukjae! I’m glad to see you back!” A voice called. Hyukjae turned around to find Sungmin waving at him. “How’s Donghae?”

 

“Donghae’s fine. Although if it weren’t for patients being here, I would have punched you and Kyuhyun for sending that box. Speaking of that little devil, where is he?”

 

“Down in the pharmacy. He is sulky because I am taking away his games for three weeks due to his stunt during our escape from the Resort. Don’t tell me you have already beaten up your cousin?”

 

Hyukjae made a mental note of that because he needed to talk to Kyuhyun about Donghae’s studies. “Oh I did stop by the salon, but I didn’t punch him because he looked very gloomy for some reason. Probably because it’s Monday, so I just yelled at him.”

 

“Ah, the Monday Back-to-Work Syndrome. So you said you did receive the box. Did you two…do it?” Sungmin wiggled his eyebrows.

 

Hyukjae ignored the question, but he knew his burning face would gave it away anyways. “Where is the Head? I need to talk to him”

 

“In his office I think. Don’t take too long! We have a lot of patients recently.” Sungmin said and walked away.

 

Hyukjae took the elevator up to Donghwa’s office. He knocked on the door and a voice called out. “Come in!”

 

He opened the door to find Donghwa sitting at his desk. “Ah, Hyukjae, welcome back! You look very healthy.”

 

“Thank you, Sir.”

 

“No need to call me Sir when there’s only us, just call me Donghwa. How’s Donghae?”

 

“He’s doing well. Right now he’s probably still sleeping.”

 

Donghwa smiled. “I see. Thank you so much for taking care of him. Is there anything that you need when you come here today?”

 

“Oh, yes.” Hyukjae said before clearing his throat. “Are you available tonight, Donghwa?”

 

“I think I should be, why?”

 

“Donghae and I want to invite you over for dinner tonight. And…we want to talk to you about something, but I think Donghae would have other stuff to talk to you about as well.”

 

Donghwa’s smile melted, replaced by a conflicted look that was similar to Donghae’s, but it was filled with more sadness and guilt than anger. “I knew this would come…but yes, I will come tonight.”

 

“Thank you, Donghwa. It would mean a lot to Donghae.” Hyukjae bowed and left the room.

 

As soon as he closed the door, Hyukjae leaned against it and tried to collect his thoughts. He hoped that Donghwa would know what to do, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something more is coming.

 

Scratching the burn that was hidden underneath his sleeve, Hyukjae pressed the button and waited for the elevator to come and take him back down to his office. He closed his eyes, and prayed that they would be alright in the future.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we begin the next part of this story :)
> 
> I hope that the smut isn't too bad...still improving!
> 
> (Legit half of this chapter is smut. I'm going to hell XD)
> 
> This story is also available on [AFF](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1346018/)
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


	14. Chapter 13: Weight in Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “For you I could pretend like I was strong when I was hurt.”

“Donghwa is coming? Tonight?” Donghae asked.

 

“Yeah, he agreed to come and meet you.” Hyukjae said on the phone. “Are you okay with that?”

 

Donghae bit his lips. “I guess…”

 

He was sitting on the couch eating the leftover taco from the previous day, watching TV. There was a documentary on the brain playing on the screen, but Donghae didn’t pay much attention to it as he was talking to Hyukjae on the phone. He felt a little sad that he woke up to an empty spot beside him on the bed, but he knew that Hyukjae had to go to work.

 

“After a traumatic experience, the brain may suffer memory loss or distortion…”

 

Donghae sighed and switched to a different channel while listening to Hyukjae on the phone. He felt like he could skip the head trauma part because he already had the experience. Although, Donghae was glad and sad that his brain worked just fine, but he retained all the painful memories.

 

“Are you still feeling sore, Hae?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, a little but it’s much better.” Donghae said. “When will you be back home?”

 

“Around 6:30? I don’t have a lot to do today. People insists that I start slowly because I am still injured.”

 

“Okay, see you then. I love you, Hyuk.”

 

“Love you too, baby.”

 

Donghae blushed at the endearment and hang up. He turned his attention back to the TV, which was playing a comedy show at the moment. However, Donghae didn’t even smile when a funny part came up because he was busy thinking about how he should act when Hyukjae came home with Donghwa that night.

 

He should probably start preparing dinner soon.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

“Kyuhyun, where are you?”

 

“Here!” A voice called from behind a shelf.

 

Hyukjae carefully avoided touching the shelves full of medicines and found Kyuhyun rearranging some items.

 

“Oh, hey Hyukjae. I was expecting you to be in your office, not here. Do you feel better today?”

 

“Much better. I’m on lunch break right now.” Hyukjae said. He noticed that the other’s mood wasn’t very good. “Are you still made that Sungmin took away your games?”

 

“I did say I was sorry.” Kyuhyun sulked.

 

“Serves you right for almost getting us killed.” Hyukjae snorted. “But thanks for getting us out of there though.”

 

The other only hummed in response and continued sorting the medicines.

 

“Kyuhyun, do you still have any of your old textbooks?”

 

Kyuhyun paused his movement and frowned. “Yes, why?”

 

Hyukjae explained Donghae’s situation and Kyuhyun’s mood instantly lit up. “Oh, Donghae could come work here? Yay!”

 

“Don’t get too excited.” Hyukjae deadpanned. “I didn’t forgive you yet for that box you sent me.”

 

“Oh, so did you do it?” Kyuhyun wiggled his eyebrows which made Hyukjae box him in the ear. “Ow! Why is everyone so mean to me…”

 

“Whatever. Also, don’t tell anyone else about Donghae, okay? There are some…people that could be looking for him.”

 

Kyuhyun looked at him curiously. “Why? Is Donghae a bad person?”

 

“What? No!” Hyukjae said instantly. “It’s just that…he’s kind of in a bad situation right now.”

 

It wasn’t a lie, though. Donghae would be pretty much dead once the organization found out that one of their ex-subjects was alive and could potentially leak his secret to the world. A long moment passed before Kyuhyun finally spoke. “Alright, I’ll try to talk to my professor and see if I can pull it off. I can bring you the textbooks tomorrow. Meanwhile, look after Donghae from whoever the bad people are okay?”

 

Hyukjae nodded. “Thanks Kyuhyun, it would mean a lot to Donghae.”

 

“So who topped?”

 

Hyukjae rolled his eyes and briskly walked out of the back of the pharmacy so that Kyuhyun couldn’t see his blushing face.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghae sat on the bed, waiting for his boyfriend to appear at the front door. He took a shower in an attempt to calm his nerves, but he still couldn’t stop shaking his legs from nervousness, know that his brother would appear as well.

 

_Keep it together, Donghae. You can do this._

 

Eventually he heard the front door click and swung open, then a few whispers was spoken. Hyukjae knocked on the bedroom door and carefully opened the door. “Donghae, are you in there?”

 

Donghae was still sitting there, brushing his feet against the floor.

 

“Hey.” He felt a finger curled around his chin and gently lifted his face up. Hyukjae was standing there, smiling and giving him a kiss. “How was your day?”

 

“I really didn’t do anything except just…making dinner.” Donghae said.

 

Hyukjae dropped his bag on the floor beside him and knelt down before him. “Nervous?”

 

Donghae nodded.

 

“It’ll be okay.” Hyukjae pecked his lips again. “I told him that I will come out with you after I change. He will be waiting in the living room.”

 

Donghae nodded again and let Hyukjae change out of his attire.

 

Hyukjae held put his hand. Donghae took it and let the other drag him out of the room.

 

He noticed the figure who was sitting on the couch. The background noise around Donghae seemed to fade into silence as the figure looked up. The world collapsed around him and it only remained the living room and the three men standing in it.

 

Donghwa looked just as Donghae remembered, but his feature had significantly aged in the last five years. He could see the few strands of grey hair that was once brown like his own, the worry lines that had grown on his forehead.

 

“Donghae...”

 

Oh, how he almost burst into tears when he heard his brother’s voice.

 

Donghwa slowly stood up, while Donghae let go of Hyukjae’s hand and walked forward. He quickened his pace until he was right in front of Donghwa.

 

Then Donghae punched him hard, right in the face.

 

“Donghae!” Hyukjae cried and wrapped his arms around Donghae, who started to tremble. “Don’t punch him, let him-“

 

“Why?!” Donghae screamed at Donghwa, who had fell on the floor from the impact. “Five fucking years, why?!”

 

Donghwa didn’t try to get up and kept his head down.

 

“Why didn’t you do anything?! You knew I was tortured! I was in that room, suffering from whatever they injected into me, and you just did nothing!”

 

Hyukjae was holding Donghae back from kicking and punching Donghwa. “Please Hae, calm down!”

 

“Let go of me, Hyukjae!” Donghae shouted angrily, before focusing back to his brother and who was still on the ground. “I hate you, Lee Donghwa! I hate you so much!”

 

“Hae, please...” Hyukjae pressed Donghae’s body against him. By this point Donghae was already a tearing mess and his struggling slowly faltered.

 

“I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...I hate you...”

 

“Sir, Donghwa, is this what you want?” Hyukjae pleaded the man while cradling the crying Donghae in his arms. “Please just explain to him about you.”

 

“You have the right to hate me.”

 

Donghae gave a tiny glance at his brother. Despite that his head was still hung low, a single tear could be seen escaping his eyes.

 

“Because it’s all my fault. It’s all my fault that you were kidnapped and forced through the experiment. It’s all my fault that...Father was killed.”

 

The entire room suddenly felt freezing cold. The ground seemed to pull away from Donghae and the room began to tilt on its side.

 

“W-what?” Donghae whispered.

 

Donghwa finally looked up at him. Tears were flowing down his face like Donghae. “Father is dead, Donghae.”

 

Donghae’s legs finally gave away, he would have fell if Hyukjae wasn’t holding him.

 

“No, it’s not true. It’s not true! I waited five years, and you are saying that he was already gone?” Donghae started to cry again. “Father is alive, you’re lying!”

 

But the tears in his brother’s eyes told him otherwise.

 

Donghae was completely lost. He tried to maintain his emotions before Donghwa and Hyukjae arrived, but that failed miserably. Now the news of his father’s death ran over his already-broken heart like a truck.

 

He didn’t know how, but once he regained his senses from the pain and sadness he was sitting at the dining table with Hyukjae beside him, caressing him in his arms and whispering soft words. Donghwa sat on the opposite side gazing at him with his puffy red eyes.

 

“Donghae…I’m so sorry.” Donghwa said slowly. “I know that an apology isn’t going to be enough for what happened. You have all the right to hate me.”

 

“Donghwa…can you at least explain what happened? Tell Donghae everything that has happened for the last five years.” Hyukjae said. “And Hae, are you willing to listen?”

 

Donghae sniffled and gave a slight nod. He clenched onto Hyukjae tightly as if Donghwa next words would completely destroy him.

 

“It was a few days before your graduation, Donghae.” Donghwa began. “I was coming home from work when I got a phone call.

 

“I didn’t recognize the voice at all, and it was a private caller. He threatened that he already had a sniper aiming at your head while you were in class, and he will shoot you if I don’t comply. I later found out that it was the director who called me.

 

“He told me to convince Father to visit Mother’s grave after your graduation. I couldn’t call the police because he made sure that he had a gunpoint on you. So I did what I was told.”

 

Donghae watched his brother spoke those words. The memories of that day came back to him, but this time much clearer. He remembered how Donghwa had acted strangely after his graduation. His smiles weren’t natural at all.

 

“As you remember, we were on the way to the cemetery when it happened. They hit our car and caused us to tumble down the side of the hill. You hit your head pretty hard and lost consciousness. I was still struggling in my seat when they walked down to us. They shot Father right in the head and knocked me out.

 

“When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in a dark room. I couldn’t see you anywhere. Then the director came in a-a-and,” Donghwa shuddered. “He simply said ‘So you and your brother is the price, eh?’, then he…he…”

 

As Donghae watched, Donghwa slowly turned over his wrist and took out a handkerchief from his pocket with his other hand. Slowly, he scrubbed the skin, removing the makeup.

 

Donghae’s eyes widened.

 

“Wait, what?” Hyukjae looked shocked as well. “I thought they only use tattoo!”

 

“Since I did not join the organization with my own free will, he did this instead. He went to the corner and took out a branding iron from the charcoal furnace and…” Donghwa closed his eyes from the painful memory. His wrist flexed subconsciously, but it could not hide the black branding of the phoenix.

 

“A few days later, they took me out of the room and led me to another one. I was cuffed to the chair and the screen in front of me lit up. Well, I thought it was a screen at first, but it was actually a window. I saw you, Donghae, tied down with the chains in that white room.

 

“I was screaming your name over and over again but you couldn’t hear me. You were wearing almost nothing, and you look so pale and weak. Then the director came in and told the people in the room to start…” Donghwa said. “It was the first day of your experiment.”

 

“The people forced me to watch your progress, even when I begged them to stop. I felt so helpless, Donghae. I couldn’t do anything but to watch you struggle and scream in pain. They didn’t let me go until I passed out of hunger and tiredness.”

 

Donghae’s breathing slowly calmed down and focused on Donghwa. He could finally see that the other was hurting as well, being so helpless with the consequences.

 

“It took a long time…but the organization started wanting me do more. With the threat to kill you immediately if I disobey, I did many, many dirty things for the organization and went up the ranks. Although they would always tie me back to the chair and watch your every experiment live. It hurt so much to see you so skinny and fragile. Your hair turned white and you became just skin and bones. I hated my life, Donghae, but it was enough to keep you alive for the five years.” Donghwa sobbed.

 

“I always knew that it won’t last forever. A month ago, I heard the news that the Beta phase was near completion and there was no need to keep the subjects. They were going to kill you after your last experiment…and I can’t let that happen. The day before the explosion, I planted explosives all around the premise so that I can escape with you. But…I never thought Hyukjae would show up and save you instead.”

 

Donghwa turned to Hyukjae. “I owe you so much, Hyukjae. Even I thought I would be able to get Donghae out, I planned on keeping silent so that Donghae would hate me. It is the rightful punishment for me after what I did.”

 

“Donghwa, don’t say that.” Hyukjae said quietly. “It wasn’t entirely your fault. You were trying to protect Donghae the entire time. If Donghae wants to really hate you forever, it’s up to him.” He looked down at Donghae in his arms, who was staring at Donghwa intently. “Hae?”

 

Donghae kept silent. He didn’t know how to begin his words.

 

“Did you know that I was raped, Donghwa?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

 

Donghwa’s glassy eyes widened.

 

“You didn’t, right? I was forced to. Almost every night.” Donghae continued. “I felt like I was in hell, Donghwa. I wanted to die, but you kept me alive and continued my suffering.”

 

“Donghae, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry-”

 

“It doesn’t matter how many times you say sorry.” Donghae cut off the words, his brother just hang his head low again and let the tears fell. “You were right, apologies weren’t enough for what happened.”

 

Donghwa just cried in his chair. Hyukjae was rubbing small circles on Donghae’s back. “Donghae…”

 

“But,” Donghae said. “I was able to escape because of you. You kept me alive so that I can have a chance to be set free, able to live again.”

 

Donghwa’s cries reduced to sniffles and he slowly raised his head.

 

“So no, Hwa, I don’t hate you.” Donghae said. “Although I can’t forgive you entirely yet, but I can understand why you did it. I have to say thank you for keeping me alive in the darkest time and…letting me find life again.” He looked at Hyukjae with a small smile.

 

Hyukjae smiled back and kissed him softly on the lips. Donghwa, on the other hand, began to cry again.

 

“So please, can I hug you, Donghwa?” Donghae asked, unsteadily stood up from his chair. “I’m sorry that you were forced to watch me suffer. I’m sorry that I said that I hate you before. I can’t do that, since you did your best and you are the only family member left for me.”

 

Donghwa stood up as well, slowly walked towards his brother and pulled him in a tight embrace.

 

“I missed you. I missed you so much.” Donghwa whispered, his tears wetting Donghae’s shirt. “I’m sorry, for everything.”

 

Donghae closed his eyes and let his own tears fell. “I missed you too, brother.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Hyukjae quietly washed the dishes, letting the siblings have their own moment in the living room. Donghae made food that he and Donghwa used to eat together when they were younger, and recalled the nostalgic memories before the kidnapping. Hyukjae was happy to see that Donghae was slowly opening up more to his brother. The painful feeling of missing each other began to fade.

 

The brothers were having small talks of things here and there until it was time for Donghwa to leave.

 

“Donghwa…why was Father killed, but not us?”

 

“I don’t know. There were rumors that Father somehow owed the organization something, but I don’t know how he got in ties with the organization in the first place.”

 

“Oh…” So the death of Donghae’s father remained a mystery. “Where is he now.”

 

“He was cremated.” Donghwa smiled sadly. “I buried him beside Mother.”

 

“Can you take me there sometime?”

 

Donghwa nodded. “I have to go, Hae.”

 

“Come visit me sometime.” Donghae hugged him tightly. With that, Donghwa left the apartment.

 

“Donghae…” Hyukjae said, embracing the other. “I’m so proud of you. You handled it so well.”

 

Donghae didn’t cry, but he was shaky and looked exhausted. “I miss Father.”

 

Hyukjae didn’t say anything but kissed the other gently. He knew how it feels, and the other needed some time to take in the news.

 

“Let’s sleep? You had a long day.”

 

They did just that. Donghae curled up against Hyukjae and buried his head against Hyukjae’s chest. The silver-hair fell asleep first, leaving Hyukjae to wrap an arm around the other and rub the other’s back gently.

 

For the time being, Donghwa also said that Donghae should stay with Hyukjae here for now. It was still not safe for Donghae to go far away as the organization spanned across the entire globe. Hyukjae and Donghwa agreed that they would protect Donghae no matter what happens in the future.

 

In the next few weeks, Hyukjae slowly worked himself back to his normal schedule. He never worked overtime so that he could go home and spend the evening with Donghae. On weekends, Hyukjae would take Donghae out on dates to various places, but not without some sort of disguises or concealment. Their relationship was nothing short of wonderful and joy, and they enjoyed every moment of it.

 

Donghae, on the other hand, didn’t just do nothing at home. Hyukjae had brought home Kyuhyun’s old textbooks and he was studying them. He would get so engrossed in them and fall asleep, which was kind of cute when Hyukjae came home and saw him resting his head on the pile of books.

 

The situation outside had stabilized significantly when Ryeowook became the president. The young man, unsurprisingly, had won the election by a landslide and took up his father’s work. He was talented and had good leadership, controlling situations easily.

 

“Hae?” Hyukjae asked one night. It was the beginning of March and the snow was melting in an excruciatingly slow pace with the low temperature. Ice storms had become more frequent as the thermometer hover around the freezing point.

 

“Mhm, Hyuk?” Donghae said in a daze. The movie was long forgotten and they were making out on the couch.

 

“Can you get me some acetaminophen? I have a little headache…” Hyukjae said.

 

Donghae came back with the little white tablet. “Are you okay? You’ve been getting headaches a lot recently.”

 

“Probably because of work.” Hyukjae said tiredly.

 

“Let’s rest then. I don’t want to go further with you having a pounding head.” Donghae said.

 

Hyukjae smiled at that. They had been doing some intimate acts occasionally, although Hyukjae personally thought them as making love. They were always careful not to hurt one another in any way, just reassurances that they love each other.

 

Moments later, they were lying on the bed with Hyukjae playing with Donghae’s fluffy hair. Since Donghae had not been putting effort into maintaining the color, the silver was fading away and revealing the white underneath. Hyukjae swore he could sometimes see little spots of brown beginning to grow out of the root under the thick layer of hair.

 

“Feeling better?” Donghae asked.

 

“Mmm.” Hyukjae hummed. “It’s already much better when you are around.”

 

“Cheesy.” Donghae snorted.

 

Suddenly, Donghae’s phone chimed with a new message. He opened it and checked the text. “Who is it?” Hyukjae asked.

 

“Taehyung.”

 

Hyukjae felt a slight twitch of jealousy. “What did he say?”

 

“Just checking on me.” Donghae said as he typed a reply. “The usual.”

 

Taehyung remained in touch with Donghae despite that he never showed his face in public. The singer had been keeping an eye on the organization as well, but apparently the organization had been very quiet. Donghwa had confirmed that as well.

 

“Can we just cuddle and sleep?”

 

Donghae laughed and tossed his phone aside. “Of course.”

 

They snuggled up to one another and closed the lights. Hyukjae tried to ignore the headache and fell asleep to the sweet scent of Donghae beside him.

 

When he woke up again, the pounding pain was back full force as he stumbled out of the bed. Hyukjae hoped that it will disappear as the day goes on.

 

“Your head is hurting again?” Leeteuk frowned.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know why.” Hyukjae said.

 

“Maybe because of your previous injury?”

 

“It’s not likely though…it shouldn’t last that long.”

 

“Then it’s probably because of work then. Don’t overdo it, Hyukjae.”

 

He wasn’t expecting another visitor in his office when Siwon came in.

 

“Oh, hello. What are you doing here?”

 

“Nothing much. I just want to ask you about something.”

 

Hyukjae raised an eyebrow. It’s rare that Siwon comes to his office for something.

 

“Did you notice anything strange about Heechul recently?”

 

“Heechul? Not really.” Hyukjae frowned, thinking about his cousin. “Except that he is a bit gloomy recently.”

 

“I noticed that too. I saw him today when I was driving here this morning. He was on the phone arguing with someone.”

 

“So? He has tons of clients. It wouldn’t be a surprise when a client wanted to change their appointment on his packed schedule.”

 

“No, it’s like…I never seen him this angry since, you know, I pulled that prank on him.”

 

“Oh.” Hyukjae remembered Heechul’s face when he was wearing that nun costume. “That’s weird then. By the way, why do you care for him?”

 

“I don’t.” Siwon scoffed. “It’s just that he’s getting weirder and weirder.”

 

“He’s always like that.” Hyukjae assured. Sometimes even he doesn’t get his cousin.

 

_That’s strange…_

 

Hyukjae knew Heechul had his tempers. The only times he saw the other really angry was Siwon’s prank and the time he broke up with his ex-boyfriend.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Donghwa sighed as he looked over more documents. He was getting worried as spring approaches, since that was when the flu season would start again. The staffs would be under a lot of stress, and it would be worse if the new virus was a new strain.

 

It probably won’t be good for Hyukjae, as he recalled that the doctor told him that his head hurts for some reason. Donghwa had told him to rest well, since he knew the other’s tendency to work too much. He was sure that Donghae would look after Hyukjae as well when he was at home.

 

Donghwa smiled at the thought of his brother. Even though Donghae still hadn’t forgive him completely yet, the other had been talking to him occasionally about random things. Donghwa had been told that Donghae was continuing his studies, and he couldn’t have been prouder of his brother. He hoped that someday in the future Donghae would find his dream job of becoming a pharmacist.

 

Then his smile slowly faded when he remembered the organization. It had been way too quiet for Donghwa’s liking. He was scared of what the leader had called a “wildfire”, and having to go weeks of silence.

 

He fiddled with the documents in front of him and found a different-colored paper underneath. Donghwa pulled it out and revealed a blueprint from one of the equipment delivered to the Resort. He must have accidentally mixed the piles together when he was sorting.

 

But what is this nagging feeling?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter, but I want Donghae and Donghwa's reunion to be the main part of this chapter :)
> 
> Also, I will be on vacation for the next two weeks...then school starts when I come back, so this story will not update in a while. Sorry about that, see you all in September!
> 
> This story is also available on [AFF](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1346018/)
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Thank you for all the support! :)


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